


SUNBURN

by frnklyiero



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Imported, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Summer, Summer Love, Summer Vacation, Swimming, Swimming Pools, relationships arranged by importance to plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-08-23 02:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 44,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16610339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frnklyiero/pseuds/frnklyiero
Summary: "Excuse me but cannonballing into the pool is prohibited for your safety.""You are excused."Tyler thinks Josh is an obnoxious and inconsiderate pool user.A Joshler AU fanfiction.





	1. 00

**Author's Note:**

> this work was imported from my wattpad. no part of this story may be reproduced without permission from me.
> 
> also, you may have noticed the absence of gifs, which i have always used in my fics except for lumos. this is because i chose not to import them along with the fics.
> 
> there have been no changes to the fic prior to posting. everything you read here are as it was the last time it was seen on wattpad.

Tyler wasn't sure why he had agreed to attend the party held on campus celebrating the end of the semester and the beginning of summer in the first place.

The frat house where the party was being held was crowded with college students and things were getting a bit too noisy for Tyler's taste. Not even his spot by the kitchen sink, which had been relatively quiet compared with what was going on the makeshift dance floor in the living room was starting to become unbearable. He had a red solo cup in his hand but his second round of alcohol had drained not too long ago.

Tyler's mind had already begun to fog so his surroundings took on a surreal quality. His eyes searched around the faces of people around him, trying to see if he could find his friends anywhere nearby. The people he had came to this party with hadn't been seen for approximately half an hour since Tyler had turned around for a second to ask someone from one of his classes about homework and turned back to find everyone had disappeared.

To make up for his lack of company, Tyler decided to have a few drinks to loosen himself up and gain false courage to socialize but so far the alcohol he had tasted awful and everyone seemed to have their own gang. Whoever said the best way to meet people was at a party was probably being sarcastic.

Shaking his head, Tyler disposed of his cup carefully in the overflowing trash bin and made his way out the kitchen. The mass of bodies clogging up the hallway on his way out of the frat house proved to be a challenge and he was certain he had stepped on a few toes and bumped into people on the way out; the glares shot in his way was proof. By the time he finally reached the front door, relief flooded his veins.

Tyler managed to find himself a nice and quiet spot on the porch, taking a seat on the steps beside a potted plant. He felt much better here because the temperature outside was cooler than it was inside and his ears wouldn't have to suffer a second longer from the volume of all the music and people around him earlier.

He did like being around people. But it was due to the fact that those people weren't people he was familiar with so the effort of trying to start conversations with strangers was making him feel drained. Here outside on his own, he felt refreshed.

Tyler stared up at the night sky. The moon hung like a half-lidded eye, staring down lazily at the world below. Distant points of starlight twinkled in the darkness, beautiful yet distant. Resting his elbows on the step behind him, he stretched his legs out and gazed skywards an allowed his mind to drift.

Eventually, he began to think of an eventful but well-spent summer from a year ago.

 


	2. playlist

[pool by paramore](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m8ElO9Y50Y)

[tightrope by walk the moon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPedH9B8AAE)

[thunder by boys like girls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytLzxl4-mLw)

[my saving grace by armor for sleep](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YL_9Hl7c6o)

[dive by ed sheeran](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv2rLZmbPMA)

[fallingforyou by the 1975](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3JJxS0gNkE)

[fun by coldplay ft. tove lo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYpgsSEasXw)

[beach bones by more amor ft. ryan ross](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt6e53kClkw)

[for him. by troye sivan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv7RV67UNco)


	3. 01

Tyler Joseph was rather iffy about his new summer job.

For one, he hadn't  _wanted_  one in the first place. Before the vacation, he had already made plans - he wanted to spend the whole day at home by sleeping, playing video games or eating. Maybe throw in a few hang outs with his friends here and there but that was that. Best to keep the list short to avoid hassle. However, his parents just had to get involved simply because his younger siblings were going to camp while Tyler would rather spend his summer home so they'd rather their eldest son to have something to do instead of waste his time being inactive.

Secondly, his parents had that grand idea that it would be best if Tyler had familiarity. Obviously, it had to be Ashley Frangipane's parents as the two families lived just next door to each other and Tyler was Ashley's friend since childhood. So the Josephs managed to pull the strings and made Tyler take up the vacant position of a part-time lifeguard at the Frangipanes' country club. Easier said than done because Ashley's parents had to screen him to see if he had the proper training and fitness level before they all came to agreement to hire him.

"You guys can go now," Tyler was telling his parents, standing awkwardly in the lobby of the country club. He had one hand on the strap of his bag that rested on his shoulder and the other behind his back with crossed fingers. At first he thought his parents would drop him off at the front entrance and drive off but Tyler was filled with disbelief when the car pulled over into an empty parking spot.

"Nonsense, it's your first day at work!" his mother beamed at it him, her hands clasped together as her eyes shone with pride.

"Yeah, but," Tyler's ears reddened in embarrassment, "I think I'm old enough to handle this by myself." He looked to his father pleadingly, hoping Mr Joseph would understand him. Tyler's father was having none of it, instead simply wore an expression that said, "Just bear with her."

"Hi there, my son here is starting his first day of work ..." his mother approached the bored-looking receptionist and began to yap away about how proud she was for her son to get a summer job -  _forced_ , in Tyler's defense but one had to gloss details to make for a good story. Tyler grimaced through the whole thing, eyes searching around the lobby for any signs of Ashley.

It was a long time since he talked to Ashley - about a couple of years - so it was awkward when he waited in his yard yesterday. He was shooting hoops until he saw her car pull up in the driveway of her house - the Frangipanes were loaded but they still chose to live in a suburban house rather than a huge mansion. Tyler didn't have her number at that time and had wished he did because it was awkward when he made small talk with her before asking what he should do the next day at work. She had given him her number, thankfully, and that was that.

Ashley promised to look for him but it's been ten minutes since he texted her that he arrived yet there was no sign of her. Tyler was about to consider asking his father whether it was okay to run him over with the car when Ashley came into the lobby.

Back when they were little, and still friends, she was a petite girl with dark, frizzy curls and a feisty look about her. She was the kind of girl who didn't care about what people thought about her, whereas Tyler had always been a little insecure about himself. They did, however, make a formidable pairing when they played two-on-two basketball back in elementary school.

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Joseph," Ashley greeted sweetly when she approached the Josephs, smiling. Tyler remembered she always had dark, frizzy curls but it was always a bit jarring for him to see her now. They hardly saw each other ever since the start of middle school because her parents decided to public schools were beneath her academic capabilities. She had long, straight hair dyed in an eye catching shade of lilac now and was sporting a crop top and frayed denim shorts.

"Ashley, it's been so long!" Mrs Joseph exclaimed, embracing her as they exchanged those grossly loud cheek kisses stereotypical moms always did. "How are you? My, how you've grown - Oh, your hair - I love the color!" Mrs Joseph began to babble away while the smile on Ashley's face looked subtly pained.

"Thank you, Mrs Joseph --" Ashley caught the martyred look on Tyler's face and managed to end the conversation with his mother politely. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Tyler stays hydrated!" she called to his parents, much to his chagrin, before leading him away from the lobby.

Tyler followed after her, silent, but his mind was whirling. Clearing his throat, he said, "Thanks for, y'know, making them go away."

Ashley glanced over her shoulder at him before slowing her pace so that she could walk beside Tyler. "It's no problem, really," she said. "So, are you excited for work?" she asked.

Tyler wanted to say no. He didn't ask to get hired but he didn't want to sound ungrateful so he nodded and made a noncommittal sound. Ashley's lack of response after that made him feel bad so he added, "I feel nervous. Kinda feel like throwing up too."

"That's totally fine. But you won't be working alone today because Brendon's on duty as well," she said as they reached a room which had a sign on the door that read  _Staff Common Room_. She pushed the door open and let Tyler enter first.

The room appeared welcoming. The walls were painted in a pastel blue color. One of them was dedicated to artfully decorated moodboards; the most notable one, Tyler noticed to his amusement, was the one filled with pictures of wholesome memes. There was a corner where beanbags sat in a circle in front of a tv that was mounted to the wall. To Tyler's left was a long table which he guessed was use for staff meetings. There were also doors to the far right, which led to the staff lockers and changing area.

"Hey, you're the new kid, right?" A boy who couldn't be much older than Tyler was, perhaps nineteen or so, came up to them. He had dark hair and had curious expression on his bespectacled gaze. Tyler figured this guy was Brendon because he was already dressed in the uniform Tyler also had in his bag. "Taylor, is it?" The guy asked.

"It's Tyler," Ashley corrected with an amused quirk of her lips at the corners.

"Tyler Joseph." Tyler extended his hand, which Brendon shook promptly with an affable smile. "You must be Brendon?" Tyler asked.

"The one and only, Brendon Urie," the boy said with a laugh that made Tyler feel less apprehensive about his first day on the job.

"Yeah, I'll just let Brendon take over from here. Good luck on your first day of work, Tyler," Ashley inclined her head at Tyler and a mock-salute at Brendon before leaving the room.

"So, you must have tons of questions on your first day, am I right?" Brendon asked, sounding eager to answer any kind of Tyler's inquiries.

"No," Tyler said before pausing briefly. "Actually, yes. Where's everybody else?" He glanced around the room as though to make sure no one had suddenly popped up when he didn't notice.

"Everyone's started. Us Lifers get extra time to get ready because the pool doesn't open in," Brendon paused to check his wristwatch, "about ten minutes."

"Oh."

"Yep."

"What did you call us?" Tyler asked with a slight frown.

"Lifers," Brendon grinned. "Do you like the ring to it?"

Tyler nodded but his mouth ended up saying, "No, I don't."

Brendon's grin faltered slightly but returned afterwards. "It's cool," he said. "I was just trying it out anyway." An awkward silence followed, with him nodding his head and Tyler smiling through folded lips when Brendon remembered something. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed loudly, startling Tyler in the process. "I was supposed to show you your locker and stuff. C'mon." He beckoned Tyler to follow him and went into the locker room allocated for the male staff.

Tyler was handed his locker key by Brendon and was given a basic rundown of what he should keep in mind before, during and after work. There was a log book he had to fill in the common area every time he came to work. He could find schedules for shifts posted on the board and times for breaks if he needed to. Brendon explained a couple more before saying, "I mean, I'm pretty sure you've checked the Employees' Handbook but just in case."

"Got it," Tyler said as he gave the 'okay' hand gesture as he stuffed his belongings in his locker. After changing into his uniform, he exited the room to find Brendon waiting for him in the staff common area. The other boy seemed to sense that Tyler was nervous so he tried telling jokes on their way to the pool but it had god-awful puns Tyler was tempted to tell Brendon to shut up - he didn't instead grimaced through it all.

The pool was to open in a few minutes time so Brendon told Tyler to look after the one for children for an hour. Not that Tyler was going to complain but he knew some mischievous kids would probably act dramatic for his attention and what's to say some kids wouldn't pee in the pool. Tyler hoped they wouldn't think it was funny to take a piss in the water and pretend they were drowning so that he would get into urine-infested waters to 'save' them.

Much to Tyler's luck, there were no children during the hour so he alternated between sitting at the lifeguard chair and pacing about the pool. Once the hour was over, he and Brendon swapped places. It was probably the most boring and uneventful summer morning Tyler has ever had as he didn't do much other than stare at people to make sure they weren't running near the pool or jumping into it.

The summer heat was beating down on the pool. Tyler was regretting an earlier decision by twenty-seven past eleven, thinking he wouldn't need to apply sunscreen lotion because early this morning the cloudy sky didn't look like it would let the sun's rays shine mercilessly on the land. Clearly, the weather had issues because it was doing exactly what Tyler had hoped it wouldn't. His skin was taking a ruddy color, to which Brendon noticed and said, "Didn't you put on sunscreen?"

"Does it  _look_  like I did?" Tyler deadpanned. He had splashed himself with water from his bottle a few times but it did nothing because the water had gone lukewarm over the course of the day.

Brendon checked his wristwatch, glanced at Tyler then said, "Dallon should be coming in to fill the shift in a few minutes. Why don't you go and grab a snack from the cafe? I'll handle the rest." Without giving Tyler a chance to decline, not that he wanted to, Brendon shooed him away.

Tyler trudged back to the staff area, finding Ashley and a few other guys playing cards at the table. He paused to see what they were playing for - two large bags of sour cream and onion chips which Tyler thought was an awful flavor - before he went to the locker room.

Opening his locker, Tyler went to grab a few dollars from his wallet when he caught the reflection of himself on the mirror attached to the interior of the locker door. He flinched at the sight before his eyebrows furrowed together. His skin looked red. Experimentally, he poked his forearm and winced.

Shoving the money in his pocket, he closed his locker and walked into the common room when Ashley went up to him and introduced him to the guys she was playing cards with earlier. Tyler was uncomfortable, owing to the fact that the stinging sensation of his sunburn but managed to smile through it. Afterwards, Ashley pulled him one side - thankfully it was by the shoulder and not by the arm - and said, "Do you need aloe vera gel for that?" She pointed at his skin.

It was kinda assuring but foreign for Ashley to be concerned for Tyler - he really needed to sort out his dead friendship with her. "Yeah, but maybe later? It doesn't look too bad," he said but she was still looking at his arms with a concerned expression. "I was thinking of grabbing something to eat from the cafe," he said to divert her attention away.

"Oh," Ashley glanced at the guys then back at Tyler. There was a thoughtful look on her face. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll tag along."

Tyler hesitated. It was a long time since they actually hung out because they wanted to and he was slightly worried it might get awkward. Then again, the thought of walking into the cafe he hadn't been to before, ordering food off a menu he wasn't familiar with and then sitting in the corner cafe all by himself - that mental image scared him. "Um, okay sure."

The two of them left the common room together. Tyler was patting his pocket to make sure his money was in there when Ashley said, "So, how has things been going on ... your side of the fence?" she asked.

"Fine, I guess?" Tyler was unsure of how to compress years' worth of events into a single sentence. With a shrug, he picked the first word he could think of and said, "Repetitive."

"Huh," Ashley responded, giving Tyler an amused look. "Why so?"

" _Kinda sorta maybe_  repetitive," Tyler corrected. "Just a  _teensy_  bit." When Ashley's crooked little grin widened, he added, "I mean, it's basically the same thing every year. Go to school. See the same faces. Pass the exams for the subjects you take. Then there's the holidays when I get to act like a pile of useless garbage in my room instead of getting shipped off to summer camp like my siblings who are gifted by the sports gods."

Ashley laughed. "Yeah, I agree with you on the school thing. It's really not my thing," she said. "Coming out on top in every class and being on top of your game for extracurricular activities is really high maintenance for me."

"Can't relate," Tyler mumbled. "I'm the definition of a constant-C student and I barely passed Calculus."

"Math is ew."

"Definitely ew."

Tyler and Ashley had just reached the cafe by the pool. As Tyler opened the door, he was greeted by the scent of freshly baked pastries and brewing coffee. As it was lunchtime, the shop was packed with patrons who had visited the club and were looking for a light meal. The sounds of many conversations taking place, silverware on plates, and coffee machines percolating, filled Tyler's ears.

He was suddenly grateful Ashley had offered to accompany him otherwise he would've took one step in this place before walking out had he been alone. Tyler offered to look for a seat for the two of them and left Ashley to wait in line with his money after telling her what he wanted to eat. As he waited awkwardly next an occupied booth by the window, he took his eyes off the couple, who was seated there and was looking like they were nearly finished with their food, to look outside.

There were a few people in the pool, splashing about but Tyler couldn't help but feel something was amiss. With a frown, he scanned the pool one more time before noticing Brendon wasn't anywhere to be seen. The people who was at the pool seemed to be a rowdy bunch that was prone to breaking a few rules here and there.

He cut a quick glance at the couple who was not talking to each other over their finished food, Ashley who was still waiting in line then at the group of people outside.

He made a split-second decision at that time.

Drawing a breath, Tyler left the cafe. He had only pushed the front door and walked towards the pool when a boy from the group who was standing by the edge of the pool, jogged backwards before suddenly shooting towards the pool. He jumped at the last moment, landing in the water with a loud splash. Poor Tyler, who was about to tell the boy off, got a mouthful of water and his clothes soaked.

Incredulous of how blatant this boy was, Tyler glared at him and spoke in the sternest voice he could muster. "Excuse me," Tyler said and the boy turned. "But cannonballing into the pool is prohibited for your safety."

The boy had an eyebrow arched but a corner of his mouth was curved upwards in amusement. There was something about the way he looked at Tyler, with a kind of arrogance Tyler had seen in some people from his school as if they were better than you, that put Tyler off. The boy had brightly dyed yellow hair and a nose ring. Tyler couldn't discern the boy's height although Tyler knew he had a lean build. The boy looked like a douche and Tyler was certain he  _was_  a douche. The boy scoffed, "You are excused."

Tyler stared at the boy, bewildered and irritated.

The boy stared back insolently.

"Definitely not your best comeback," one of the boys' friends muttered and the rest snickered along.

"Well this is a public pool, mind you. You shouldn't be jumping around and splashing into the water," Tyler chided in a brusque manner at the group, making them all stare at him with a mix of annoyance and contempt. "Just because you're all priveleged and that you can afford to have a membership doesn't mean you can act any way you want. At least be  _considerate_."

"Whoa, what's gotten Tomato here with his shorts in a twist?" the boy sneered, causing Tyler's face to turn redder than his sunburnt skin.

"Listen, Lemon-Head," Tyler snapped, losing his patience. "I didn't get forced to take a summer job just to deal with you and your shitty friends. So it's either all of you --"

"Tyler?" Ashley, who had come out of the cafe, was looking from Tyler to the group. She seemed to put two and two together when she walked to where Tyler was standing and said, "I think you're all in the wrong pool."

"What do you mean, Ash?" The familiarity in which Lemon-Head addressed her caused Tyler to frown. Even if he wad hardly part of Ashley's circle, he wouldn't want her to associate herself with guys like Lemon-Head; she was too good to he hanging out with them anyway.

"You're all acting like a bunch of five year-olds, you might as well get your asses to the kids' pool."

"Sheesh, calm down. I was only joking around and he needs to loosen up --"

"Well, don't be rude to Tyler. He's on his first day on the job so obviously he's feeling pressured. You might as well make it easy for him to settle in," Ashley admonished the group, which made Tyler surprised because they all suddenly looked contrite. Lemon-Head muttered an apology although he didn't look directly at Tyler for the matter.

Ashley shook her head at them in disapproval before holding Tyler by the arm. He was too confused to protest and allowed her to lead him back to the cafe.

"What just happened?" Tyler asked faintly when she sat him down at the booth he had waited by earlier.

"I dragged a bunch of idiots?" Ashley said, gesturing at the food and coffee she had ordered for the both of them.

Tyler picked his coffee cup, removed the plastic lid and took a sip before wincing; the liquid burned the tip of his tongue so he set it back on the table. "I mean, you know those guys?" he asked, gesturing at the pool.

"Yeah, some of them go to my school but the guy with yellow hair comes to town every summer." Ashley picked up a club sandwich, removing the toothpick which had an olive impaled on it.

"Never seem him around."

"Honestly, I don't blame you," Ashley replied. "You stay at home a lot, don't you? So I doubt he seems familiar to you."

The way she put her words kinda irritated Tyler even if it was true. "Sure," he responded.

Ashley peered outside for a few moments, not noticing Tyler's mild annoyance at her previous sentence before she took a sip of her coffee. "He stays with his grandparents during the summer."

The thought of Lemon-Head being nice to people, elderly ones in particular, was a difficult mental image to come up. After Tyler's first impression of the guy, Lemon-Head being  _nice_  was as likely as aliens and humans coming to intergalactic consensus over communication and trade. "He's douche," Tyler said decidedly.

"He's a fatheaded jerk," Ashley corrected. "But anyway, we're not here to talk about him. Forget about him," she said before raising her coffee cup. "We're here to drink coffee, and eat, to you for managing to finish your first day at work - c'mon let's clink our coffee cups," Ashley urged.

Not at all certain what was going on, Tyler fumbled with his coffee cup and 'clinked' it clumsily with Ashley's. He didn't really feel accomplished enough to celebrate, considering today was mostly uneventful and he did next to nothing except for scold Lemon-Head's with Ashley's help. But the food was delicious and the coffee was great so he wasn't going to complain.

Today didn't go as bad as he thought it would.


	4. 02

The next few days Tyler went to work, he wore slip on sleeves while on duty to cover up his sunburn as his lifeguard uniform didn't come in a long-sleeve variant. This time around as he made sure to put on sunscreen lotion and constantly reminded himself not to stay in the sun too long.

Today, Brendon was off-duty and in his place was a tall boy with a lanky stature and bright blue eyes. His name was Dallon and though he was friendly he was a bit shy.

This morning went by slower compared to previous days. It was probably worse too because he was yelled at by an impatient patron who mistaken him for the towel attendant and thought Tyler was ignoring her because she was an elderly person. Dallon tried to help to smooth things over but in the end he also got yelled so they ended up dragging Ashley, who was passing by, to help them.

As the day drew closer to noon, Tyler found himself counting down the minutes to the end his shift; he kept glancing at his watch every so often. Sitting at the lifeguard chair, he swung his whistle around by the string, staring at the pool with unfocused eyes. As people toweled themselves dry and left the pool as the hands of the clock inched closer to lunchtime, it gave Tyler some time to idle and let his thoughts drift.

So far, Lemon-Head and his friends hadn't made an appearance on Tyler's shifts, which was great because there was less jerks to deal with. He had had enough with snobby patrons so he definitely didn't need spoiled rich kids making fun at him. In fact, he quite liked the streak that was going on - that was the number of days in succession Lemon-Head didn't show up - when the universe had to plan for the streak to be ruined today.

Lemon-Head - the name was hardly appropriate now as he had his hair dyed red now - was walking towards the changing rooms with his bag casually slung over his shoulder. Tyler tensed, waiting for Lemon-Head to turn his head and make fun of Tyler.

When Lemon-Head disappeared into the changing rooms, Tyler let out a sigh of relief, grateful that he didn't have to deal with one more person with a sucky attitude today. Checking his watch once more, he grinned when he saw that the time displayed was the time his shift officially ended. He got out of his seat and made his way to the children's pool where a weary-looking Dallon was trying to stop the kids from thrashing pool noodles around and hitting other kids in the process.

"Do you need help?" Tyler asked, concerned.

"I'm good but thanks," Dallon replied before he waded his way towards a five-year old who was brandishing a pool noodle at him threateningly. "If you wanna leave now, it's cool. Go on - Ow! Please don't do that; it's not very nice."

As Dallon chided the pool noodle brandishing kid, Tyler excused himself and went to his lifeguard chair at the adults' pool. He picked up his towel that was thrown over the armrest, draping it over his shoulder. As he was about to open his water bottle and drink from it, a person spoke from behind him. "Taylor, is it?"

Tyler turned around, water bottle still in his mouth, when he saw Lemon-Head behind him. An immediate scowl formed on Tyler's face as he removed the water bottle and arched his eyebrows. "It's  _Tyler_ ," he corrected. "But I guess I should be glad you didn't call me Tomato instead."

Now that Lemon-Head was on land and was standing near him, Tyler realized the guy was roughly his height, but an estimated inch or two shorter. Lemon-Head's hair, though dyed, didn't seem to have damaged strands, in fact, it looked really smooth; the sides of his head were shaved so it looked darker than the rest of his head. He also looked fitter than Tyler, owing to the muscle tee he wore which showed off his defined bare arms and broad shoulders.

The corners of Lemon-Head's mouth lift upwards into a smirk. "Ooh, is that shade I hear?"

"You can only see shade but not hear it," Tyler mumbled, expressing his disapproval for internet slangs.

Lemon-Head chuckled. "Whatever," he said, shaking his head. "I'm just here to apologize to you properly for ... what happened yesterday. I honestly didn't know it was your first day on the job and I'm sorry I kinda made it difficult for you." He extended his hand. "I'm Josh, by the way."

Tyler hesitated. He wasn't going to jump in and catch whatever Josh was throwing at him although Josh seemed to be genuinely apologizing. "Y-yeah, okay whatever," Tyler said with a shrug, ignoring Josh's extended hand. "Just, don't bother me until I've worked at least a month here," he added.

Josh scoffed. "A month? Honey, you're  _definitely_  gonna encounter some people worse than some bratty and rude teenager like me."

"What?"

"Don't pretend you didn't know." Josh grinned, revealing perfectly straight teeth. His eyes gleamed in amusement at Tyler's frown. "I mean, only snobby people would have the mind to pay for an expensive membership here so there's obviously a chance that you're bound to meet a few of them who have that mindset that goes like, 'Oh, I pay my fees which, by the way, pay for your salary so respect me.' That, and I can tell you kinda hate me."

Tyler was supposed to be shocked at how accurate Josh's observation on how some of the patrons of the country club could act but instead he was surprised Josh knew Tyler disliked him. "Hate is a strong word," he said. "And I wouldn't use the word 'hate' to describe how I feel towards you." He paused. "It's just ... my first impression of you wasn't very good."

"Huh," Josh responded when a playful grin curved his lips upwards. "So what about your second impression of me?" he asked, and in Tyler's opinion, sounded smug. "Is it any better?"

Tyler couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes before he shook his head. "Don't expect any special treatment just because you were nice, Lemon-Head," he said before making for the exit.

"Elmo."

Tyler stopped and looked over his shoulder with a frown. "What?"

Josh pointed at his head, or more specifically his dyed red hair. "It's not yellow anymore."

"I'm perfectly aware of that."

"Great." Josh gave him a thumbs-up. "And please call me Josh from now on, alright?"

"Whatever, Elmo."

It was Josh's turn to roll his eyes but he was smirking.

▬▬▬

"Okay, let me get this straight," Tyler said, frowning. "You want me to go on a double date with you, Brendon and his date. Except it's not really a date on our case because we're  _just_  friends who reconnected because of my summer job. And that you're forced to go on this double date thing because you lost a bet to Brendon."

" _Yes, and you kinda left out the bit about all of us not knowing the identity of the person Brendon's bringing_ ," Ashley corrected from the other end of the line.

"That detail's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned," Tyler said dismissively. "Seriously? You couldn't have asked sooner or something? I'm kinda busy right now," he added whilst selecting an opponent on Tekken.

" _I can't back out of this, Tyler_.  _I lost a bet to Brendon, fair and square, so I've gotta do this_."

"Yeah, but ... I'm not good in a crowd," he said when the match began. He mashed the buttons repeatedly, hammering his opponent when he added, "Plus, it's a date - I don't know how to be romantic and stuff. I always fuck up relationships."

" _You don't have to be romantic - oh god - it's a casual date. All of us probably aren't gonna be committed to each other after that. Also, I_  wouldn't  _want you to act all lovey-dovey too. At least enjoy yourself and you can call a favor as payment for this._ "

"Great offer but I can't enjoy myself if I'm being forced to enjoy myself. It's a contradiction, y'know?"

" _Good point_ ," Ashley responded when she sighed ruefully. " _Well, I could try asking Josh and see if he's free tonight_."

Tyler froze up in surprise, unintentionally allowing the CPU to beat his character up. Swearing under his breath, he paused the game and returned his attention to the call. "Josh? As in, Lemon -  _sorry_  - Elmo?"

" _What?_ "

"Never mind that," Tyler said hastily. "Josh as in the guy who had yellow hair?"

" _Yup_."

"No way."

" _I mean, he_  can  _be a decent guy when he wants to --_ "

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Tyler frowned. A mental image of Ashley and Josh going on that double date with Brendon and the mystery person surfaced in his head - he didn't like the smug way Josh was smirking in his mind, with his arm around Ashley. "You sure you don't you have any other friends to ask?" he questioned once more with skepticism.

" _Nobody likes me_  for me,  _okay? My entire friend circle from school cut me off before summer ended so, really, the only people I'm comfortable around are Brendon, my parents, and - yeah_."

Tyler sighed and looked down at himself. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of ugly basketball shorts because he had planned to do next to nothing for the rest of the evening. He did deserve it, after managing his first week as a lifeguard, so this was a reward for himself. Also, his parents would be out late due to work, which meant he'd have the whole house to himself. Who would want to pass that opportunity up, anyway?

Annoyingly, his brain chose the time to echo his mother's words earlier this morning that went along the lines of "Honey, you need to get out there and hang out with  _your friends_!" His brain even went as far as flashing an image of his mother's disapproving features, which did the job of shattering his plans to stay home this evening. As if to guilt him further, his brain also replayed the image of his father agreeing to his mother.

"Fine," he said curtly. "Do you want me to pick you up in a bike or what?"

" _You're kidding, right?_ "

"No, I am gonna pick you up with a bike. Not all parents can afford to buy their kid a car instead of making them share."

"Uh, we could use my car instead."

Tyler paused. "Okay fine," he said before they negotiated on the time they'd leave to meet Brendon and his blind date then hung up on the call. Sighing once more in exasperation, he dragged himself out of bed and made his way to the closet to pick an outfit. For a moment, he regretted not asking Ashley where the place was and if there was a dress code to adhere to. So he stood there frowning at his drawers before he thought,  _Fuck_ _it - at least I'm not going stark naked,_  and grabbed a white shirt that didn't look too wrinkled, a pair of jeans and a dark red hoodie. He got himself changed, grabbed his phone, wallet and keys, and went downstairs to wait.

After fifteen minutes or so, Tyler received a text from Ashley that she was waiting outside. Switching off the tv, he left the house and went outside to find Ashley waiting for him at the end of the driveway in her car - it wasn't even an expensive model yet Tyler felt a tinge of envy. He got into the vehicle.

The interior of the car appeared clean and well-maintained. There was that faint smell of car freshener and perfume mingling in the air. A pair of soft die hung from the mirror and, for some reason, a bobble-head Hawaiian girl stood on the dash. 80s pop music - Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley - was playing on the stereo.

"Nice car," Tyler said as he buckled his seatbelt. "Also, way to rick-roll me."

"It wasn't intentional," Ashley mumbled, fiddling with the stereo so it skipped to George Michael's  _Careless Whisper_. "Oh, what the hell."

"It's fine. I don't mind," Tyler said, trying not to laugh.

"I don't have a a preference for songs-turned-memes all the time, just so you know."

"Even if you do, I'm not gonna hold it against you," he reassured.

Ashley gave a tight-lipped smile, though it looked more like she was trying her best to play it cool when the moment the saxophone solo began to play at the end of the chorus. Then the two of them burst out laughing.

"I can never keep a straight face when this song plays!" Ashley exclaimed.

"Fun but useless fact: my dad loves this song," Tyler said.

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"Oh god." Ashley was still laughing when she drove away from Tyler's house. "Yeah, I mean, it's an okay song but the sax solo --" she broke off with a grin.

"Makes it sound suggestive?" Tyler suggested.

"Precisely."

Tyler shook his head in amusement. Once the song ended, the two of them began to talk about music - apparently the only thing in common they had for their tastes was 80s music but other than that, Ashley had a preference for classic rock and folk music (a strange combination) while Tyler was a big fan of game soundtracks. In that vein, they continued on to talk about other interests and it was starting to feel like all the years they had spent not talking to each other melted away.

Once their conversation about the latest Star Wars trailer and their theories ended, they had pulled up in a parking lot a block away from the diner where they were going to meet Brendon and Mystery Person. As Tyler got out of the car, he was aware of how nervous he was about this whole double date thing. Sure, he had been on dates before, but each time he did he always felt the need to impress the other person. And this time it was no better, in fact, he felt even more pressed about being on his best behavior and to make a good first impression.

To make himself feel a bit less nervous about the whole thing, Tyler told Ashley, "You look nice," as they walked to the diner.

It was true. Ashley looked good in a plaid red shirt worn over a black  _Iron Maiden_  tee that was tucked into her shorts, and knee-high socks with boots. Plus, she rocked the bold red lipstick.

Ashley flashed him a smile. If anything, she did look a bit nervous, so it put him at little more at ease knowing he wasn't the only one fretting over the double date. "Thanks. You look nice too," she said. Tyler was tempted to argue since he put nearly zero effort in dressing up but decided to take the compliment anyway; he needed a confidence boost.

They walked into the diner and looked around to find Brendon when they spotted him at the corner in a booth, stirring a milkshake with his spoon and staring off with a vacant expression.

"You alright there?" Ashley asked when they approached the booth.

"Oh, you guys. You're here!" Brendon sat up so fast he nearly knocked over his milkshake. He gave Ashley a quick hug and tried to give Tyler one but then the two of them ended up bro-fisting because Tyler wasn't one for hugs from someone he only knew for a week. "Gosh, I'm so nervous," Brendon said, as if that wasn't obvious enough from his shaky hands. "I don't even know the girl other than what she looks like."

"Who set you up with her?" Tyler asked curiously when he and Ashley read the laminated menus.

"Dallon," Brendon answered. "All I know about this girl is that her name is Sarah and I don't know anything about her other than the fact that she's one of his cousins. And she goes to his church or something."

"Yikes, he set you up with his cousin?" Ashley frowned at Brendon.

"I was desperate, okay?" Brendon's face turned red with indignation. "I don't want Spencer to think I'm all lonely and hung up over him."

"No offense, Brendon, but you can't just use Sarah as a rebound --" Tyler was cut off when Ashley elbowed him and pointed at the entrance. There was a pretty girl standing there, peering around. Tyler was about to ask what was the deal with her requiring to nudge him when Brendon did this kind of choking sound.

"I think that's her," he whispered, looking terrified.

There was a thump from under the table, followed by Ashley hissing, "Call her over to join us, for fuck's sake." And Brendon jumped out of the booth so fast, he nearly knocked the milkshake over. Ashley muttered something under her breath and rolled her eyes discreetly.

▬▬▬

The double date was mediocre, at best, and awkward, at worst.

Brendon was talkative but he kept stumbling over his words so it was like he was babbling the whole time. He didn't give much chance for neither Sarah nor Ashley and Tyler to strike up a conversation though every attempt the three of them did would be cut off by Brendon steering off the tangent.

Only when the food arrived did Brendon shut up, which was a silence everyone at the table secretly welcomed.

After finishing their dinner and paying for it, the four of them decided to visit the arcade to while the night away. Not that Ashley and Tyler had second thoughts about being moral support for Brendon, they ditched him and Sarah for the Taiko-drum game.

"I have like zero rhythm," Ashley said, even though she was the one who suggested they play it. "But I love the colors."

"Colors?" Tyler echoed as he inserted tokens into the machine. "That's what you like?"

"Yeah," Ashley passed him a pair of drumsticks and taking a pair of her own. "I've always wanted to do Art but Mom and Dad want me to be a surgeon. Science isn't my thing," she added when the game started.

"Then how do you pull through?"

"That, my friend, is my secret."

Tyler sighed before focusing on the game.

It went off terribly. Somehow Tyler had set the difficulty to hard - he wasn't paying attention earlier and he didn't understand the Japanese characters onscreen either - which meant there was a lot of cursing and untimely hitting on the taiko drums. They were so bad, even a couple of kids who were watching them close by laughed.

"What even the  _fuck_?" Ashley was whacking every inch of the drum, which didn't help her to score any higher than Tyler did.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry for this," Tyler said when his drumstick flew out of his hand. He swore loudly and abandoned the game. Turning around, his eyes were scanning the floor in search of the stray drumstick when a pair of shoes stepped into his peripheral vision.

The person who had approached him said, "You dropped this."

"Thanks," Tyler looked up, hand reaching to take the drumstick from the person when he did a double take. He wasn't one to be surprised easily but he did not expect to see Josh at the arcade tonight. A frown formed on his face and he caught himself speaking without thinking. "Lemon-Head? What are you doing here?"

"Wow, someone's not very happy to see me," Josh commented but was smiling pleasantly. His gaze drifted past Tyler's to Ashley when his eyebrows arched. "Oh, and you're here with Ash." Then the upwards curve of his lips widened further when he saw how terribly she was playing.

"Yeah and thanks for taking the drumstick." Tyler took the drumstick from Josh before he followed the line of Josh's gaze. Tyler's eyebrows furrowed together when he glanced at Josh then at Ashley and back at Josh. "Can I help you with something?" Tyler asked. There was something about the way Josh was looking at Ashley that he didn't quite like - it kinda reminded him of the way some guys from his school would look at girls. Of course he'd feel the need to watch out for Ashley.

Josh ignored him and approached Ashley, who had just finished the game and seemed very relieved that the game was over. "Damn, those were some drumming skills you've got." His tone was teasing, although it was bordering on mockery.

"Yeah, I can smell your sarcasm from a mile away, Josh." Ashley dumped the drumsticks back in the pocket and shook her head. "You might wanna try a different approach, y'know?"

"Why'd you pick the 'Hard' setting if you can't play?" Josh questioned.

"One, I don't understand Japanese," Tyler said, purposely putting himself in between Ashley and Josh. He dropped the drumstick back in the pocket. "And two, I wasn't paying attention," he added.

"Hm," Josh responded.

"Not like you can do better, can you, Josh?" Ashley scoffed, rolling her eyes but there was a teasing grin on her lips.

"Wanna bet?" Josh produced a few tokens from his pocket and jingled them in his palm. "I play the the most difficult setting. If I lose, you and I go on a date?" Josh looked over.

"Me?" Tyler was startled for a moment.

" _Not you_. Ashley." Josh gave Tyler an incredulous look as if he couldn't possibly imagine why Tyler would think that.

"Fine," Ashley said, placing her hand on Tyler's shoulder as an indication he should move aside; he obliged. "And if you lose, you be on your best behavior at the pool for the next two weeks."

"Aw, come on, I'm sure you have a better offer than that."

Tyler didn't like the way Josh said offer.

"Nope. Unless you want to go on a date with Tyler."

"Hey!" Tyler responded indignantly with a large scowl on his face. "No way am I going on a date with Lemon-Head."

"Elmo," Josh corrected.

"I can't even relationship!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh, it was just a joke," Ashley said, putting her hands out. "Anyway, yeah, if Josh loses, he has to be on his best behavior on every of your shift, for the next two weeks," she suggested to Tyler, who was throwing an unconcerned Josh disparaging looks.

"Deal," Tyler said.

"It's not even your agreement to make," Josh argued.

"Josh," Ashley said firmly.

Josh opened his mouth to protest before he sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. Something about his act didn't gave Tyler a sense of foreboding that didn't dissipate even after Josh had inserted the tokens in the machine and selected the highest difficulty setting.


	5. 03

Tyler was torn in between feeling amazed and feeling cheated, even though he didn't technically make the bet with Josh. Even Ashley seemed to share the same incredulous expression as he was, wide-eyed and open-mouthed yet there was an unmistakable crease on her forehead from the frown she wore.

It was clear to see that Josh had mastered this game somehow, breezing through the level as though it was nothing. He even bobbed his head to the rhythm and had the time to twirl the drumstick which, in Tyler's opinion, should be difficult to manage. Josh had also beat someone's high score too. With a self-satisfied grin, he dropped the drumsticks back in the pocket and turned to face two dumbstruck teenagers named Ashley and Tyler.

"So," Josh said, his tone a mockery of innocence. "You were saying about a bet?"

Ashley blinked a few times, trying to get herself out of the shock. "You cheated," she said, "Fucking hell, Josh. I didn't know you could drum!"

"Well, you'd have known if you took the time to hang out with me."

"How long have you been drumming?" Tyler asked curiously. "Or do you spend an unholy amount of time playing this game?"

"No, I learned to drum when I was little," Josh answered. "So, I've been drumming for years."

Ashley scoffed, crossing her arms. "If I knew you were  _that good_  at drumming, I would've kept my mouth shut!" she exclaimed.

A chuckle escaped from Josh as he regarded Ashley. "You get to choose: movie night or a ride around town?"

"Can we discuss this later?" Ashley asked, her hands already on Tyler's shoulder. "Yeah, I came to have a good time but hey, our good time can wait, can't it?" Without waiting for Josh to respond, she led Tyler away from the taiko-drum game machine to the section that had claw machines. There, they found Brendon and Sarah attempting to grab a large Magikarp prize.

Ashley glanced over her shoulder to see if Josh had followed them. "Phew, I thought he wouldn't leave us alone," she said in relief.

"What's with Josh?" Tyler asked when Brendon and Sarah let out exclamations of excitement when they managed to win the Magikarp prize.

"He's been trying to ask me out on a date since last summer but --" Ashley broke off with a shrug. "He's not my type. It's a bit annoying, really. Like, aren't there any other girls - or guys if that's his thing - who would  _actually_  want to go out with him?" she said.

"Did you ever tell him no?"

" _Ish._ " Ashley sighed wearily. "No, wait, I did one time but he thought it was a joke."

"Oh," Tyler responded. He glanced at Brendon and Sarah, who were both disappearing round the last of the claw machine at the end, then back at Ashley. A sudden idea occurred to him but before he could share it with Ashley, a tiny voice in his head said,  _Don't be ridiculous_. But when he looked at Ashley and remembered how weary and bothered her tone sounded when she spoke of Josh's attempts to ask her out, he ignored that tiny voice in his head.

"We could pretend we're dating?" Tyler suggested when Ashley's head swiveled quickly to face him. "Like, dating exclusively, y'know? Meaning we're just --"

"I know what it means." Ashley began to laugh before she tried to suppress her laughter by covering her mouth. "I'm sorry but - gosh, Tyler, wouldn't that be kinda like a boyfriend-girlfriend thing? Like a committed relationship thing."

" _Not necessarily_ ," Tyler said when he thought of that one article he had read regarding this matter. "Being committed to a person and dating them exclusively exclusively share similarities but are different altogether. But that's not really important here. I mean, we could just pretend so Josh would back off?"

Ashley stared at Tyler for a few moments, that amused smile still on her features. "Not gonna lie, that's a good idea," she said. "But wouldn't this end up like one of those romance plot clichés where we might end up falling for each other?"

"I think that applies for the fake significant other tag."

"It might not be so different for our case."

Tyler sighed, letting his eyes drift to the claw machine. "You're probably right," he acknowledged. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to have any feelings for Ashley, who'd probably be leaving town again once summer ends, and whether he wanted her to fall for him because he didn't fully like the idea of being far away from a significant other.

Noticing the look on Tyler's face, Ashley hesitated. "But, hey, we could always put this idea on a pin," she said. "I mean, it is a good one and I like your thinking. But we'll save it for later, yeah?"

"Yeah."

▬▬▬

The weekend came to an end far too quickly and Tyler found himself waking up annoyed to the sound of the alarm from his phone. He had switched off the snooze function so he wouldn't think about using it. However ten minutes later after his alarm had went off, he awoke with a start, remembering he had a job. He dragged himself out of bed and made himself get ready in a robotic manner and grab the things he needed before leaving the house.

Tyler's parents went to work early, so he couldn't hitch a ride with either one of them unless he woke up earlier. Taking his bike out of his garage, he rode it all the way to the country club. It wasn't too far from where he lived but the sun was up, beating its heat down on him. By the time he had arrived, his clothes were sticky with sweat. The receptionist gave him a disgusted look - he never liked her either so he simply mirrored her face when their eyes met - before he went to the staff lounge.

Brendon was already there, chattering excitedly about someone he'd met over the weekend at a friend's party, to Ashley while she was playing cards with a few other employees. Brendon looked up, saw Tyler, and opened his mouth when he frowned. "Er, did you run all the way here or - ?"

"I cycled my way here. Try it, it's good for cardio," Tyler replied before disappearing into the locker room. When he emerged from it later, he tried to ignore the detached feeling of disgust at himself for not at least having a quick shower to rid himself of any dried sweat on his skin.

"No, Travis was cool the whole time. But Ryan, on the other hand, man, you should've seen the way he punched --" Brendon broke off when Tyler passed by on the way, then glanced at his watch. "Shit, I gotta go. See y'all at lunch," he said to his friends before joining Tyler.

On their way to the pool, Tyler asked, "Do you hate Mondays?"

It took Brendon a few seconds to answer that. "Not really, why?"

"Because I don't feel like being here at all," Tyler said with a sigh. "I just wanna sleep the whole day."

"Had a busy Sunday night?"

"Kinda," Tyler said. He had actually stayed up late the night before to watch a livestream of an MMORPG competition. Brendon looked like he wanted to ask more questions - he was probably trying to be friendly - but Tyler wasn't in the mood to entertain any more inquiries so he said,  "How was your Sunday night?"

"Awesome!" Brendon exclaimed before he babbled away about the party he attended the night before. Tyler zoned out at the beginning of Brendon's account, not that Brendon noticed, and let his mind drift away to thoughts of what he planned to do later at home when he suddenly snapped to focus. The sight that brought his attention back to the present was Josh back-flipping into the pool.

It was a perfect execution of a jump as Josh landed in the water. His head broke the surface a second later, with him blinking the water out of his eyes and smiling that smug smile of his. Truth be told, Tyler had tried back-flipping into the pool one time and ended up smacking the water on his back; it was a painful lesson that he was terrible at diving. He felt a slight twinge of jealousy. Just as he opened his mouth to tell Josh off, the red-haired boy turned in his direction and broke into a grin.

"I thought I made it clear that you shouldn't engage in risky behaviors," Tyler huffed, glaring at Josh.

Josh shrugged. "Oops," he said, "Silly me, I must've forgotten. But thanks for the reminder."

Brendon passed by, giving one look at Josh then at Tyler before declaring, "Well, I'll take care of the kids' pool." Then he zipped away.

Tyler's arms folded across his chest while he continued glaring down at Josh. In a detached way, it was satisfying because Tyler, who always felt like he wasn't tall, had the chance to actually feel like he was tall. "Well, good thing I reminded you before you snapped your neck."

"Now, now, no need to be so dramatic." Josh glanced around. "Morning duty, huh?"

"That's right." Tyler was taking his place at the lifeguard seat. "So you'd better be on your best behavior or I'll send you off the pool."

"You can't do that. You can only report me to security. Do your research, please."

Tyler bit back a retort and fumed. Just when he thought Josh wouldn't be bothering him, on a Monday morning at that, Josh had to show his face up and ruin Tyler's already terrible mood for the day. Eyes narrowed, Tyler watched Josh, who hadn't broken their gazes or rid his lips of that annoying smirk, tread water. "Just ... don't bother me and I won't have an issue with you."

Josh gave him a mock salute before continuing to swim. This time, he proved himself to not make much of a trouble as he swam laps in a leisurely manner about the pool, ranging his strokes after five laps or so. What impressed Tyler was how he could make the butterfly stroke more like graceful movements across the water and less like a flailing manta ray who hadn't quite mastered swimming. After ten minutes or so, Tyler decided Josh wouldn't bother him so he minded his own business and did his duty of watching over other pool users. While pacing near the pool to stretch his legs, Tyler thought about what he liked and disliked about his summer job.

The list of things he liked was small - Ashley, because she was a familiar face despite the fact they weren't close friends like they used to anymore; the vending machine near the staff common room, the meme board where anyone could contribute a new internet joke anytime; the food at the cafe, although it was a bit pricey for his liking; his salary, even though he hadn't received it.

The list of things he disliked was longer - the receptionist, because she seemed to dislike Tyler for whatever reason; having to get out of bed early for work; the feeling of mornings dragging out while he was on duty; exposure to sun and summer heat, which meant he sweat a lot more than he liked; patrons who either didn't follow the rules ( _cough_  Josh  _cough_ ) or belittled him by stubbornly believed he was the towel boy, even though he was  _clearly_  wearing the lifeguard uniform.

A loud splash brought Tyler back to the present. Cutting his gaze to the pool, he saw Josh pulling himself out of the water, which was silly because there was a perfectly fine pool ladder right across where Josh was. Pushing back the wet strands of red hair that was falling all over his brow, Josh craned his head to look at Tyler, who had gone back to pacing. An amused grin sat on Josh's lips.

"What's up?" he called to Tyler.

"Huh, what?" Tyler looked at Josh. "Nothing. Just doing my duty."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Cool." Josh stood up and sauntered to a lounge chair where he had left his bag. Pulling out a towel, he dried himself off and continued to watch Tyler pace around the pool. This time, he noticed, Tyler looked more focused and less like he was contemplating on ways to pull up his low exam grades. It was after a minute or so did Tyler return to his lifeguard chair when Josh walked over. "Hey, you."

Tyler simply gave him an annoyed sideways look. "What?"

"Quick question: is Ashley dating anyone?"

Tyler was about to tell Josh to mind his own business when he remembered Josh was trying to get Ashley to date him. A frown settled on Tyler's face. "Why don't you ask her yourself? And I thought  _you_  were taking her out on a date."

"Just making sure there aren't any competitors to stop me from being on top of my game."

Tyler snorted incredulously before it turned into a derisive laugh. When he turned to face Josh, there was a frown of confusion on the other boy's face. "So that's what it is? Ashley's just  _one of your conquests_?"

Josh didn't understand why Tyler was speaking in a scornful tone but seemed to take it as a challenge. "I don't see anything wrong with that. Why? Do you like her?" he asked point-blank.

Tyler had to stand up so he could fully face Josh instead of twisting his neck around. He was wearing an offended sort of expression. " _Hello_ , get your head out of your misogynistic ass. Ashley's not  _some girl_  you can chase after and then dump when she likes you back," he said vehemently. "In fact, you shouldn't treat  _anyone_  like that!"

Josh was starting to look annoyed with Tyler's reaction. "Look, it's not a big deal --"

" _Yes it is_ ," Tyler protested. "News flash, genius. People have feelings too. They're not objects you can toy around with for your convenience. The world doesn't work like that."

" _Um, paging Tyler Joseph_ ," Brendon called from the kids' pool, his voice crackling from the megaphone he had mysteriously acquired at some point. " _Please get back to work_." A few patrons had turned their heads curiously.

Tyler sighed in exasperation. "And for the record, I don't like her that way." He took a step away from Josh before he turned back to Josh. "Oh, and I might not look like much, I'd be happy to fight you if you hurt Ashley's feelings."

"Sounds like a date." Clearly, Tyler's tirade had been lost on Josh. In fact, he looked amused.

Tyler scowled at him before storming to the kids' pool where Brendon was. After some bargaining involving confused gesticulations and Brendon wearily giving up the megaphone, Tyler managed to take the kids' pool duty for the rest of the morning.


	6. 04

Tyler loved his siblings but he hated it whenever they'd brag about their achievements to their parents. His siblings were at camp this summer and had nearly no internet access - unless they wanted to email home then there was definitely a service for that - but that didn't stop them from 'telling' the news to Mr and Mrs Joseph. Truth be told, Tyler gave no fucks about what his siblings did but it was annoying how Mrs Joseph gave that vibe that translated to Tyler as "Look at your siblings being all active at camp while you've done next to nothing this summer. Oh, how I wish you were like them!"

After Mrs Joseph made Tyler and his father sit in the living room while she read Zack, Jay and Madison's emails, Tyler returned to his room in an irritable mood. It was uncommon for younger siblings to outshine an older one yet here he was fuming. He wasn't jealous, he just wished they were all born with the trait of modesty so he wasn't tempted to mentally slap them for boasting about their achievements.

Tyler went to work the next day with vengeance. Everyone could tell he was in a bad mood and steered clear of him, except for Brendon who was perhaps one of the most blissfully ignorant people Tyler had ever met. The morning was terrible, with the usual gaggle of stuck-up patrons and mischievous spoiled kids so it took him every ounce of whatever patience he had - he needed this job, like, a lot - to grimace through it all and handle every situation in a calm manner.

Brendon said Tyler looked more like he was "ready to snap anyone's neck in an instant before you can say 'ramen' and it was highly accurate because that was exactly how Tyler felt. Tense, irritable and suffering on the inside. His foul mood didn't go unnoticed by Ashley; she must've felt bad enough for him to offer to treat him to ice cream.

"Ashley, it's fine," Tyler said wearily while he had his lunch in the staff pantry. "I don't even like ice cream," he added; he couldn't help but feel slightly hurt Ashley didn't remember this detail about him.

"Oh, right." Ashley's cheeks flushed pink as an awkward look crossed her face. "Well, we could always have churros instead. I know this place that has the best churros in town." Since she insisted on cheering Tyler up, and he had been craving churros since yesterday but was too lazy to buy any, he accepted the offer. Later, they were at a small Mexican joint Tyler had never heard of but Ashley was right - the churros here were the best he ever tasted.

Every bite of delicious fried-dough pastry actually made him feel better. Nothing like a good snack to cheer anyone up. "It's so good, what the hell," Tyler said after inhaling a plate of churros all by himself. "How have I not known about this place?" he asked.

Ashley grinned in amusement. "You haven't lived till you've had churros here," she said, taking a bite of her enchilada.

Tyler could only agree. Once ordering another plate of churros - he didn't even feel ashamed that it was his third plate - he turned back to Ashley and said, "How did you find out about this place?"

"Funny story." Ashley's cheeks turned pink. "Remember that bet with Josh?" she asked but Tyler had already known where this was going.

"No way," he uttered in disbelief. "He brought you here? On your first date?"

Ashley shrugged. "Okay, but he treated me and there was no way I'm turning down free food."

"Well Christ can fuck me sideways." Tyler stared at her, still incredulous. He remembered a few days ago when Josh had asked him whether there was anyone Ashley was dating so that Josh could stay "on top of his game." The mere thought of Josh viewing Ashley as some romantic conquest, with the possibility that he'd only discard her once he got what he wanted, caused Tyler to feel a sudden wave of anger and disgust for Josh and worry for Ashley.

"Hey Ashley?" Tyler said.

"Hm?"

His lips folded into a thin line as he drew his gaze to hers. There was a serious look on his face. "Okay, I'm gonna be totally honest with you," Tyler said when Ashley arched her eyebrow at him. "Look, Josh is a fuckboy. I don't know what he told you but I talked - well,  _he_  talked about you the other day and he was wondering whether you were dating anyone. So he said something that gave me the vibe that he's just in it for the chase --"

"Tyler, Tyler," Ashley interrupted her friend in midsentence, holding up her hand. For a moment, his heart sank because he thought  _Great, now Josh managed to charm his way into her head_  when he noticed Ashley's expression. "Look, I don't really give a crap about him," she insisted. "I mean, he's just fun to hang out with. Yes, I know he's a fuckboy; I've heard way too many rumors about him --"

"What?"

"Oh yes." Ashley nodded, a small smile curling the corner of her lips. "I don't know how tuned you are into knowing the tea about other people --"

"I usually go out of my way to avoid listening to gossip," Tyler mumbled.

"Really?" Ashley looked slightly disappointed. "Well, you probably should."

 _It's not like knowing what other people are up to will pull up my grades or help me earn extra pocket money_ , Tyler was tempted to retort but he kept silent. Truth be told, he was interested in knowing the rumors about Josh - not that he was interested in the boy in that sense. No, he just wanted to know what kind of person Josh was, from other people's point of view. But he had to take this information with a grain of salt, though. People tended to blow things out of proportion sometimes just for the kick of it.

"Just spill the tea," Tyler said.

A triumphant smirk formed on Ashley's features. "I knew you'd be interested." There was a slight hint of teasing playfulness in her tone.

Red tinted Tyler's cheeks. "I'm not  _into_  him," he protested when his churros was served by a waiter. "Calm down, woman."

"Funny you said that because I never asked."

"Your tone implied it. But whatever, can we cut to the chase?"

Ashley laughed. "Okay, okay." She paused to finish her enchiladas but Tyler had a distinct feeling she was doing that on purpose to build the suspense. "Yes, you're right. Josh is --"

"A fuckboy," said someone from the booth behind Tyler.

Tyler gave a start, swiveling his head around to see a familiar head with hair dyed in the most atrocious color of red. "What the fuck?"

The person turned around, revealing Josh in sunglasses with a smirk on his face. "Spilling the tea about me now, eh Ashley?"

Ashley's cheeks flushed red. "Um, what? No? I mean --"

"All you've heard about me is true," Josh confirmed, which made Tyler all the more confused because he was the only person who didn't know and Josh seemed proud of himself. "Well, at least most of them. But that rumor about me getting Debby knocked up is fake. She used an ovulation test strip not a pregnancy test strip but damn, did it give everyone a nasty shock." He laughed as though the memory amused him.

Tyler could only stare at him with confusion while Ashley looked even more embarrassed by the second. "Well, it's just what I heard," Ashley said defensively, crossing her arms.

"Well, you know what they say: a worthless man digs up evil, while his words are like scorching fire," Josh said.

A frown formed on Tyler's brow when he recognized the quote from the New American Standard Bible. "I didn't know you were a Christian," he told Josh.

Josh looked highly amused. "Nah, I just read Bibles for fun. They make great stories but some of them are complete bullshit," he said.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Ashley asked once she had recovered.

"Waiting for a friend," Josh answered vaguely, which caused Tyler to raise his eyebrows. Noticing his response, Josh grinned and winked at Tyler. "No worries, babe. Wasn't stalking you at all."

Blood rushed into Tyler's cheeks as he drew his gaze away, flustered. He heard Josh chuckle behind his back, clearly amused by his reaction which made Tyler want to throw a churro at Josh's face. "Yeah, well, I knew that," Tyler said, forcing what he hoped sounded like a casual laugh. "Yeah, um Ashley, isn't it time for my next shift already?"

"Huh?"

Without sparing a moment for Ashley to respond, he began to get out of the booth. But before he could put at least ten feet of distance away from where Josh said, the boy with dyed red hair said, "So I'm having a party this Friday at my place. You two should come."

Tyler stopped and gave Josh a look. "Thanks, but I've got stuff to do."

"Really?" Josh wore an intrigued expression. "More important than my party?" Tyler disliked how he could sound so innocent yet so spoiled when he asked that question.

"Probably," Tyler said while making a mental note to disconnect from any social media for that night in case Josh managed to find him. He was convinced this guy was lowkey a stalker; after all how much of a coincidence could it be to meet a person twice in a day, and at such a convenient timing too? Giving a fake smile to Josh, Tyler hurried out of the store.

The plate of churros he had ordered earlier lay untouched at the table.

▬▬▬

"Um, what was that?" Ashley asked with a teasing tone. She glanced at Tyler from the road, smirking.

A frown creased his brow as he faced her. "What was what?" he asked warily, hands clutching his seatbelt, a habit he had acquired from childhood whenever he sat in the front passenger's seat. He noticed the look on Ashley's face and grew even more confused, and perhaps a little flustered. "Honestly, I won't understand if you don't say --"

"You and Josh, I mean." Tyler was absolutely positive that Ashley was teasing him. "Him calling you 'babe' and winking at you."

"Oh,  _shut up_ ," he exhaled in exasperation, rolling his eyes. "He's just being obnoxious."

"Obnoxious?" Ashley echoed, both unconvinced and amused by Tyler's response. She chuckled, shaking her head. "You thought that was him  _being_  obnoxious?"

"Duh," Tyler responded. "I mean, isn't he always like this? Trying to get someone's attention by doing stupid shit that pisses them off? And then flaunting and preening at the same time? Because he does that a lot when I'm on duty, which I think he's doing on purpose because he can't bother you or anything."

"Uh." Ashley gave him a knowing look, which was irritating because it seemed that Tyler's view of Josh's behavior didn't match with her view. "Sounds to me he's into you."

"Oh, fuck off." Tyler expelled a loud sigh. "It's  _you_  he's into."

"He could have a change of heart."

"It's not like he had any to begin with."

"Oof," Ashley said with a wince before grinning. "Did you just throw shade at him? Hah, you're into him."

"Ashley, don't be ridiculous. I'm not into him and probably won't be until the day pigs sprout wings and fly," Tyler argued.

"I could ask my dad to fund a research project for that," Ashley mused aloud.

"Girl, you should probably ask your daddy to spend his money elsewhere like, I dunno, to non-profit organizations that help Third-World countries or areas with no access to clean water supply."

"Yeah, but you and Josh, though."

"If you go on with this one more time, I will  _literally_  throw myself out of the car," Tyler threatened.

Ashley scoffed. "Okay, but anyone using the word 'literally' as a hyperbole for emphasis should be banned. You don't need to emphasize what you're trying to say when the context of it is already literal "

"Ok, jeez. Grammar nazi alert. But, really, enough with the me and Josh thing --"

"Ooh, so you're a thing now?" Ashley teased.

Tyler turned bright red and decided not to speak on the rest of the ride because Ashley was taking everything he was saying and manipulating them against him. There was nothing between him and Josh and he intended for it to be that way.

Too bad the universe didn't get the memo on his wish.

▬▬▬

Came Friday night and Tyler found himself staring at a large and expensive-looking house from across the street, silently judging at how tacky the concept of the party was. Really? Was this some annoyingly cliché chick-flick movie where house parties needed to have way more people than the host actually knew, toilet paper strung on random places in the yard, and drunken teenagers clogging up the doorway?

Tyler was scowling at the place where Josh was having his party. Didn't this house belong to Josh's grandparents? If so, where were they? Anyway, he didn't know what overcame him to make him give in to Ashley's pleas to accompany her to the party. It wasn't like she hadn't any other friends to go with -  _cough_ , Brendon,  _cough_  - but after numerous of spam text messages and three calls, he relented. Now, the presentiment that he'd regret his decision was lurking at the back of his head.

"It'll be fun," Ashley promised but at the sight of so many people at the doorway, Tyler would beg to differ.

"I'm an asocial introvert so I'm sure my social battery will die the moment I walk - well, squeeze through that clogged excuse of a doorway," Tyler complained.

"Isn't it antisocial?"

"An antisocial person is someone who is violent and harmful to others."

"To be fair, you  _do_  look like you want to snap someone's neck," Ashley pointed out.

Tyler gave her a weary look and decided not to argue. The Prophet Moses may have had divine help in parting the Red Sea but Tyler doubted he'd have much luck making the wall of ungodly inebriated teens move out of the way to let them enter. They didn't appear unwelcoming, in fact they looked happy there were more to join the party, although Tyler wished they'd stop sloshing their drinks around while swaying to the trap music that was leaking outdoors from inside.

"Don't look now but there's a bunch of girls to your left in the parlor who are from my school," Ashley told Tyler, gesturing at the group. "They used to be my friends before I realized they were toxic."

"Uh huh," Tyler was focused on getting out of here because he was already not enjoying his surroundings and the music was too loud. "D'you think we could get to somewhere less cramped?"

"I guess." Ashley looked around before sighing. "Christ, Josh's grandparents must be fucking loaded if they can afford for all these," she said, taking note of the expensive looking paintings and sculptures in one of the rooms. At the exact moment she finished her sentence, the sound of an object breaking could be heard, followed by a chorus of accusatory and mocked  _ooh_ 's.

Both Tyler and Ashley craned their necks to peer into the room to see the commotion. "Well, your parents are rich too."

"That's different. They don't like spending money. If you ask me," Ashley began to opine, pushing Tyler out of the way as a couple of guys pushed past them, "they're kinda stingy."

"Well, I guess they won't have to worry so much about people breaking expensive stuff in their house." Tyler came to a stop at a closed door near the end of the hallway. He reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist when he found it was unlocked. He peered into the room, surprised to see that no one had taken advantage of it to do nasty stuff. Relieved he could find a place to hide from all these partygoers, he turned around, "Ashley, I think I found a place we --"

Ashley was nowhere to be found. A frown knitted itself onto Tyler's eyebrows as he glanced around worriedly. With a sigh, he guessed she must've dumped him at some point to go dancing or socialize so he entered the room to hide there by himself.

Flipping on the light switch, Tyler had a clearer view of the room's purpose. It seemed that this was a study, with a large desk facing the door and books lining the built-in shelves by the wall. In the center of the room, a bunch of colorful beanbags sat in a circle, incongruous to the serious atmosphere this room might've had. There were stacks of books on the floor too, some of which looked like manga series while others appeared closer to encyclopedias and old almanacs.

Tyler was picking an almanac up and having a look at it - a page on farmers' planting tables - when he heard the door open. Just as he was putting it back on the stack, he heard a voice saying, "What the fuck are you doing in Gramps' study?"


	7. 05

The moment Tyler heard the voice, he gave a start and the almanac slipped from his fingers and fell flat on the floor, pages bent awkwardly. He turned around, holding his breath, when he saw Josh by the door with a scowl on his face. Too surprised to treat Josh the way he usually did, Tyler launched into a full-on apology mode. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to intrude but I kinda lost Ashley and --" he broke off when he noticed Josh was staring sullenly at the ground. Following Josh's gaze, Tyler saw that he seemed to be displeased about the almanac on the floor. Tyler picked it up hurriedly.

"Gramps likes his books in pristine condition," Josh muttered and carelessly pushed the door shut behind him. A slam followed. He squinted at Tyler before continuing, "He wouldn't like seeing his books like that, Tyler."

Tyler flinched, smoothing down the bent pages. "Let's hope he doesn't notice this then," he said although his tone was a tad too hopeful. He returned the almanc to the stack where it belonged but instead of putting on the top, where he had originally taken it, he placed it at the bottom. The whole time, Josh had taken a seat at one of the beanbags and watched him idly. Tyler straightened up, noticed Josh staring, and then frowned questioningly.

Before he could ask a question, Josh said, "I used to do that too."

Tyler didn't notice earlier but he saw the bottle in Josh's hand.  _Oh, he must be drunk_ , he thought, which explained why he was unsteady on his feet earlier and was having trouble recognizing Tyler earlier. "Did he ever notice?" Tyler asked, allowing his curiosity to win him over.

"Sometimes he didn't. But most of the times he did." Josh took a swig from his bottle. "You wouldn't want to know what he did to me when he notices."

Suddenly, Tyler felt like they might be approaching a difficult topic so he decided to change the subject, for Josh's sake. "These are a shit ton of books," he said. "Is this where you read Bibles for fun?"

A careless smirk grew on Josh's lip. "Well, I kinda lied about that bit. Gramps used to make me memorize stuff he thought was important." Josh gestured at one of the shelves. "That's where he keeps the Bibles."

"Huh." Tyler looked at Josh then at the Bible row, wondering what it was like to be told to memorize verses off the Bible - there was probably reciting too. Tyler wasn't religious but he did attend Sunday School when he was younger but back then he was more interested in action figurines than being taught about religion. He tried to imagine a younger Josh, standing in a tremulous manner before a strict-looking old man. "Must've been a fun summer every year then."

"Actually," Josh began after taking a swig from his bottle, "I was homeschooled until I was ten."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "My parents thought it'd be best if they left me with my grandparents. They were always busy, you see." He looked at Tyler, noticing the other boy's expression. "You're wondering what it's like to be homeschooled, right?"

Tyler tried to hide the curiosity that had appeared on his face and pretended to be disinterested. "Not really, no," he lied, focusing on the pile of books that stood beside the beanbag Josh was sitting on. "I know a lot of kids who were homeschooled."

The left corner of Josh's mouth curved upwards. "Yeah, you're a terrible liar." He seemed satisfied with himself when Tyler narrowed his eyes and scowled. Setting his bottle down on the floor, Josh sat up and regarded Tyler observantly for a few moments. Pressing his lips together, he clasped his hands together and said, "To be honest, I don't know most of the people here at my party."

"Um, like ninety percent of them?"

Josh laughed. It wasn't the kind of loud, forceful laugh Tyler associated with people who had egos too big for the heads but a soft, gentle one. It sounded real, well, in the way that Josh didn't sound like he was keeping the facade of a spoiled boy. "I'd say eighty-seven percent." He turned to grin at Tyler and for some reason, Tyler didn't feel annoyed seeing the careless smile on his face. "My friends are the ones who asked them all to come. Not sure how they know so many people." Tyler was tempted to ask more questions but decided it was probably intrusive. Beside, even if Josh was drunk why should Tyler think it was fine to make the guy talk so much?

He glanced at Josh then back at his crossed legs before him. Then again and again. He quite liked this Josh, as much as he hated to admit it. Not the Josh that acted as if he had could act like an inconsiderate brat but this version of Josh where he was, for the most part, normal. Friendly. Not constantly teasing Tyler in a mocking manner. And certainly not talking as if he had to have Ashley as though she were some sort of prize one might acquire from an arcade.

So Tyler looked at Josh again, now noticing the red-haired boy was humming to himself and tapping his hands to his knees to a rhythm. It was a catchy tune he was humming that came with an equally catchy beat, which caused a sudden thought to occur to Tyler. "Could you show me the drums you play?" he asked abruptly.

Josh stopped swaying to the song he had made up and arched an eyebrow at Tyler. "My drums?" When Tyler nodded in response, the flushed cheeks of his grew redder. "Um, sure. I guess? Why though?" he asked as he tried to get up. He fell back clumsily against the beanbag and made several attempts before Tyler helped him up. "Thanks."

"No probs." Even though Tyler had let go of Josh, his hand felt as though Josh's hand was still there - warm and gentle but it had a firm grip and fingers that were callused. He dismissed the thought away to the best he could and cleared his throat. "Just curious."

Josh opened his mouth when it closed as a frown appeared on his face. "Is it me," he began, looking to the door, "or did the music stop?" Before he had even finished his last word, Tyler had noticed the house was too quiet. The dull throbbing of the soundtracks that had been playing earlier could no longer be heard.

Both boys exchanged glances before they rushed out of the room to see what was wrong. They could see a stream of people making for the door; some of them look annoyed, the rest looked either stoned or drunk. Josh strode a few paces forward while Tyler lingered in the hallway, staring in confusion at the disgruntled guests.

Amongst the people, Tyler managed to spot Ashley in the crowd. Immediately, he began to push past bodies, stepping on feet (by accident, of course) until he caught Ashley firmly by the arm. "There you are!" he exclaimed in relief, startling Ashley. "Oh my god, I lost you and I had no idea --"

"Why didn't you call me?" Ashley demanded, pulling Tyler into a hug. "Goddamit, I should be asking why you didn't answer my calls!"

Tyler patted his pockets when his blood ran cold. He patted them again, frantically this time, when he remembered he had left it to charge in his car. Color tinted his cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut and muttered curses about his negligence. "I didn't have my phone with me."

Ashley sighed and shook her hand. She was now holding Tyler firmly by the arm now. "Never mind. At least you're not losing your ride home." The moment they passed by the parlor, Tyler thought he caught a glimpse of a red-haired boy out the corner of his eye but when he turned to see, he saw an empty room.

They left the house and got into the car; no questions were asked as to why everyone was asked to leave the house but it was answered when Ashley said, "Josh's grandparents came home." The simple statement didn't have to be elaborated so that it would be known that they were the sole reason why everyone was sent home.

Tyler said nothing, instead stared out the window at passing houses. He couldn't help but think about Josh and his grandparents. What were they like? And why did Josh suddenly up and disappear into thin air? He imagined an old couple, both with stern expressions on their wrinkled faces, rigid postures, fine clothes. He imagined them glaring at the partygoers, their presence commanding all the teenagers in the house to acknowledge that they were no longer welcome. And the exodus of people. Then came the image of Josh, seated on the sofa while his grandparents told him off.

But in Tyler's head, Josh didn't talk back, something Tyler had always imagined him doing to adults. Josh would stare at the floor with a stubborn gaze burning into the hardwood floor, jaw set. Tyler didn't know why he felt worried.

▬▬▬

Tyler should've given it a rest but when he didn't see Josh at the pool the next day he was worried. Worried in the way that Josh's absence lurked at the back of his mind; it was like having a tiny stone in your shoe - you did your best to ignore it but it would to remind you it would still be there. He tried to keep himself busy by pacing up and down by the pool, even offering to look after the kids pool for Brendon as there were spoiled brats occupying the area that could help Tyler to distract himself.

Came lunch time and Tyler sat in the staff area with Brendon, Ashley and a few other employees but their conversations did nothing to drown out the voice in his head reminding him Josh didn't come to the pool today. Ridiculous, Tyler thought to himself as he ate his sandwich, you should be glad that Elmo isn't here to bother you. Pep talk was useless here, apparently.

As he was no longer needed, Tyler went home but not before he stopped by at Josh's. He had left his bike under a tree across the street where Josh's house stood, and was standing there staring at the building with a hesitant look on his face. His earlier imaginings of Josh's grandparents had left an impression on him that they were indeed like that, contributing to the doubt towards his decision to walk up the doorway and ask for Josh.

It was stupid but Tyler sat there afterwards, under the tree, staring at the house. He squinted his eyes and tried to see into the windows for the sight of Josh, just to make sure the boy was okay, but no such luck. So he remained there until sweat began to seep into his clothes and cause the fabric to stick on his skin. After about fifteen minutes, he stood up and sighed. Why on earth was he looking out for Josh when Josh had caused nothing but annoyance for Tyler?

Just as he picked up his bike, he peered one last time at the house when a voice called out, "Do you want to get sunburnt again?"

Tyler knew that voice. He turned around to find Josh walking towards - no, sauntering - with that stupid smirk on his face. "No," Tyler scoffed and stood up straight. He resisted the urge to wipe off the sweat that was currently dripping off his brow. Narrowing his eyes into a scowl, he hoped it would help to erase the signs of concern on his features as he glared Josh. "What are you doing here?"

A crease formed on Josh's forehead. "I should be the one asking you that." He looked Tyler up and down when that ridiculous grin of his widened. "Anyway, I live there." He pointed at his house.

"I knew that."

"But you don't."

Tyler stared at him. "How the fuck do you know that?" he asked warily as he reached for the handlebars of his bike. "Wait, never mind. Don't answer that." He sat on his bike and made as if to cycle away but he noticed Josh was still regarding him with amusement. "I was just stopping by," Tyler clarified.

"Yeah,  _sure you were_ ," Josh scoffed. "You missed me, didn't you?" Tyler hated how smug he sounded and how correct he was, so Tyler gave him a scowl. "Aw, come on. Admit it, lover boy."

"Shut up," Tyler hissed, starting to pedal away. "I wasn't looking for you!" And Josh did this stupid thing: he jogged up to Tyler to match the pace of the bike. "Oh my god, can you please not?" He began to pedal faster, just a little bit, in hopes Josh would give up.

"Nope!" How was Josh was laughing without wheezing for breath like Tyler would? "Not until you admit you were looking for me!"

"You're a fucking idiot!" Tyler exclaimed. "And I wasn't looking for you. Now, begone you foul beast!" This confused Josh for a moment and Tyler seized the opportunity he hadn't seized before: pedaling faster away from Josh. A rush of triumph flooded his veins as he got further and further away from Josh. There was a silly grin on his face now, and just before he turned the corner of the street, he flipped a finger over his shoulder knowing Josh would see it.

When he got home later, sweating, panting and red in the face, he realized the racing in his chest had been exhilaration when Josh chased him.


	8. 06

Seeing Josh at the pool first thing in the morning proved to be both relieving and annoying at the same time. Tyler was glad Josh appeared to be fine but he was not pleased to find the boy cannonballing into the pool as if he hadn't been told multiple of times not to. This time around Brendon simply left Tyler be, knowing he'd tell Josh off for being inconsiderate to other currently absent pool users.

"Good morning to you too." Josh was wearing an amused grin when he saw Tyler approaching. Waiting until Tyler was by the pool, he splashed the water.

"Elmo, you know the drill." Tyler rolled his eyes and went to dry off his feet. "You shouldn't splash around. People might slip on the water that ends up at the edges of the pool and hurt themselves," he said when he heard splashing water behind him. He turned to give Josh a pointed glare.

"Do you have any siblings?" Josh asked abruptly as he got himself out of the water and sat on the edge of the pool. Rivulets of water ran down his body as he pushed away wet strands of his dyed red hair while blinking out the droplets from his eyes.

Warily, Tyler said, "Why?" There was that stupid smirk that he was starting to grow accustomed to occupying Josh's face. In response, Tyler narrowed his eye skeptically. "What's it to you?"

"I heard those oldest among their siblings tend to be bossy to others."

Tyler let out a  _Pft_  noise and laughed dismissively. "What the hell, Josh," he scoffed, hoping his reaction would be able to hide the answer from showing on his face (yes, he was the eldest). "Go back to swimming." Afterwards, he ignored the rest of Josh's attempts to get him to talk. Fortunately, Josh left the pool about an hour later, saying that he was getting bored and that Tyler was no fun to talk to (not Tyler's fault though, he was supposed to be working).

As the morning rolled by slowly, Tyler began to grow bored. There weren't many people at the pool today so there wasn't much to do other than sitting and doing nothing. It was also hot that day, and though Tyler remained in the shade to avoid the sun, the sweltering heat baked him. Once or twice he kept himself busy by checking the condition of the water but other than that he was eagerly counting down the time till his shift would end at lunch.

Came noon and Tyler found himself heading to the staff area. After treating himself to a cool shower, he got changed and went to have his lunch, which consisted of pasta. He joined Ashley and some of the employees present at the table, watching a rerun of some fantasy movie playing on the TV mounted on the wall. As Tyler was finishing up on his lunch, Ashley noticed his presence and smirked at him.

"What?" Tyler deadpanned. Ashley continued to smile that stupid smile, which made him feel apprehensive about her unusual behavior. "I'm trying to eat my pasta here." He gestured at his nearly finished meal.

"So what's the deal with Josh?" she inquired with a teasing hint to her casual tone.

A frown creased Tyler's brows as he stared back at her. As far as he knew, Josh had left and probably didn't bother Ashley yet her she was smirking at him as though there was something going on between him and Josh. To the best of Tyler's knowledge, there was nothing particularly interesting going on between him and Josh except for him constantly bugging Josh to stop cannonballing into the pool and yesterday when he was kinda chased by Josh.

"I dunno," Tyler said with a shrug, still confused, "I just know he's after you."

"Oh shush you."

"What?" Tyler was perplexed. "You said it yourself he was. I mean, he's been coming to the pool and all. Nearly every morning, if I might add."

"Yeah, but I'm never at the pool, am I?"

Tyler opened his mouth to argue then snapped it shut. A sudden thought occurred to him, which was the most reasonable explanation to why Ashley was behaving oddly. His cheeks grew red as he dismissed the thought. A scowl appeared on his face. "Well ... Well, maybe he just wants to be there to bother me. I always tell him not to jump in the pool, but does he listen? No." A sigh was expelled. "Or maybe swimming's his favorite form of cardio."

" _Tyler_."

" _Ashley_."

"Tyler, I think he likes you."

Tyler, who went back to eat his pasta to show that he was no longer interested in the conversation, choked on his food. Coughing, spluttering and earning annoyed looks from his colleagues, he seized the can of fizzy lemonade and drank it. Then he gave Ashley an incredulous glare. "That isn't funny!"

"It's just a hunch!"

"Shh!" hissed one of the employees with bubblegum pink hair. "This is the climax of the movie."

"Sorry, Jackie." Ashley shot an apologetic look in the employee's direction before turning to Tyler with this stubborn yet amused look on her face. She got up from the table, grinning, and beckoned him to follow her. "He's just scoping you out," she stated, much to Tyler's chagrin, when they stepped outside. "I bet twenty bucks that he'll be trying to get in your pants before the end of summer.

"No thank you."

"To the twenty dollars?"

"To him getting in my pants." Tyler's face was bright red with embarrassment at hearing Ashley's casually brazen statement. "I'm not into him."

"Fine. I'll lower the stakes. He kisses you, but double if tongue and butt is included."

"What if it's just the tongue or butt only?" Tyler snapped when he was aware of his mistake the moment Ashley made some kind of scary squealing noise at the back of her throat. "Fuck, I mean, just a question and not that I'm actually willing --" he broke off, getting hit by realization in the face again. "Wait, why are we casually discussing about what Josh would do to me?" He smacked his forehead. "Oh god we should never speak of this subject ever again."

"Twenty bucks." Ashley said and Tyler stuck a tongue out at her as he went back in the room.

▬▬▬

"Ridiculous," Tyler scoffed under his breath as he mashed the buttons on his controller furiously. On his computer screen, a heavily muscled character was pummeling a bigger opponent. "Absolutely ridiculous! As if I'd ever let Josh near me, much less put his mouth on mine."

The notion of him and Josh doing anything relatively intimate sounded like a recipe for disaster. They obviously weren't compatible, because most times Tyler felt like punching Josh, and they wouldn't have chemistry, given Tyler would usually get annoyed with Josh.

 _Oh, but you_ _weren_ _'t like that at Josh's house were you?_  said a voice in his head that sounded a lot like Ashley's.  _And that time when he chased after you_  --

Tyler's character was in the middle of a combo attack and it just so happened that his finger mashed the wrong button at the very same moment that voice spoke. The effect was immediate; the combo was ruined then Tyler's character was pummeled into a grease spot by the CPU. Letting out a frustrated noise, Tyler dropped his controller and pushed his face in his hands.

Usually, things people said that he considered trivial wouldn't remain in his brain for this long of a period, being a source of irritation like a tiny stone stuck in one's shoe. No, Tyler didn't care about some stupid bet Ashley made and he hadn't planned on letting it have an effect on him. Yet here he was in his room, playing the video game he hated and getting all worked up over that dumb bet. This would not do.

As though he was driven by an urgent need, Tyler crossed his room towards his closet and dug around it. Producing a basketball from it, he kicked the door shut and left his room. A minute later he was outside, dribbling the ball. He didn't play much these days; basketball was reserved for when he was either too stressed to unwind inside or when he was too bored to do anything.

Though he didn't always make a clean shot, the act of shooting was enough to drive away all incessant thoughts and lock his mind on a single task. By the time he sat himself in the shade of his house, his clothes were damp with sweat and his muscles aching for rest; it was an oddly satisfying feeling, which he liked. After grabbing a water bottle from inside, he perched at the front steps with his legs stretched out languorously before him.

At first Tyler didn't take heed of that figure from across the street until it drew closer. Just when he thought he had finally escaped from any sort of mental reminders of that stupid bet, the figure turned out to be Elmo.

" _Fuck_ _me_ ," Tyler muttered angrily under his breath as he scowled at a grinning Josh whilst dribbling his ball. "How the hell do you know where I live?" Tyler demanded.

Josh's smile faltered at once, eyebrows furrowing together in surprise when he saw Tyler holding the ball like he was planning to throw it at Josh if he were to come any closer. "Jeez I just thought I'd say hi --"

"Ashley told you about it, didn't she?"

"Huh?" Josh had made a wise decision to keep his distance, and hold out his hands in case Tyler were to throw the ball at him. "About what?" He seemed to be confused with the current situation.

Tyler lowered the ball before remembering he wasn't supposed to let his guard down. He scowled again. "Whatever. Just - just keep your distance, literally and figuratively."

"I don't know about figuratively, but I'm doing it literally so I don't get hit by a ball."

Like he was triggered by a reflex, Tyler chest-passed the ball towards Josh, making sure to flick his wrist as fast as he could so the ball could fly faster. He didn't know what he was expecting but he knew he felt a tremble of excitement when Josh caught the ball without batting an eyelid. There had been a tiny shred of disappointment that it hadn't hit Josh square in the chest but that feeling was disregarded when Josh's eyes met Tyler's.

Dribbling the ball casually, Josh sized Tyler up with that slightly crooked grin. A moment passed before that expression was replaced by seriousness. Tyler only had less than a second to respond when Josh moved. Surprisingly, he was faster than Tyler was, darting round him and shooting the ball at the rim above the garage door. Tyler was jealous Josh could make such a clean shot, while jumping, and make it look easy.

"Is that all you've got?" Josh asked teasingly, dribbling the ball once more as he rounded Tyler. "Ashley told me you're supposed to be quick."

There was this tiny flutter in Tyler's chest when he replayed the previous moment. "I got distracted, okay?" he snapped, trying to steal the ball from Josh but to no success.

Josh was grinning that stupid grin again. "Aw, distracted because of me?"

"As if!" Tyler retorted and swiped his hand, this time managing to take the ball away from Josh. Not sparing a moment he lunged for the ball and put himself in between Josh and the ball. "I was looking at some stray cat."

"There are no strays in this neighborhood," Josh replied from behind Tyler in a matter-of-factly tone.

Even if he was right, no way was Tyler giving in. "Well you don't know that for sure." Seizing the opportunity, Tyler made a shot but unfortunately the ball bounced off the rim like there were some invisible force that slapped it away from Tyler's target. " _Godfuckingdammit_!"

"No using God's name in vain, Joseph," Josh reproved.

Tyler simply gave Josh a look, sighed and decided to continue playing because he wanted his ball back but Josh showed no intent of returning it; in fact, he appeared to be challenging Tyler to take it from him with that stupid grin. Later on, Tyler forgot what his initial objective had been, and he found himself having fun. It had been some time since he played basketball with anyone and though he wasn't likely to admit it any time now, he was glad Josh came over.

All too soon, Josh's phone rung from a call, interrupting their current smooth flow of the game. Tyler watched as Josh's eyebrows furrow together when he checked his phone and answered it. It wasn't necessarily lying when Josh said to whoever was calling him that he was out with friends but the location given was a product of deceit. "The gym," Josh responded, and Tyler wondered whether that person on the phone was one of Josh's grandparents.

They must be worried for him.

And Tyler shouldn't be feeling guilty for keeping Josh away from home but he did. As soon as Josh hung up the phone, he immediately launched into an apology. "I'm so sorry for taking up your time and all --"

"Huh?" Josh was giving him an incredulous look. "You're not taking my time. I'm giving you my time."

"Wasn't that your grandparents or something?" Of course Tyler knew the answer when Josh hesitated. "Anyway, I'm sorry to keep you from going --"

"Stop that."

"What?"

"Stop saying sorry," Josh said. "You don't have to apologize. I wanted to hang out with you anyway." Somehow, his explanation caused Tyler to go weak and mushy inside for no reason. The corners of Josh's lips curled upwards, and this time it wasn't that insouciant smirk he often wore but rather a sweet one Tyler was certain he had seen before. "It was fun, but you need to watch out on your footwork."

Immediately, Tyler's expression soured. "Don't tell me what to do."

Josh's eyes crinkled with mirth. "Yeah, you too when I'm at the pool."

"Excuse you, Mr Dun, but it's my duty to tell you not to jeopardize your safety as well as others," Tyler retorted.

"Ooh, someone's getting all professional even though he's not on duty." Josh shook his head but was smiling all the same. Then he stuck out his hand. "Thanks for having me over."

Tyler hesitated for a second before reaching to shake Josh's hand. However before he could touch it, Josh whipped his hand away and did this weird handshake thing to Tyler's hand, earning a confused frown from Tyler. Once Josh was done, he did a mock salute and winked at Tyler, then headed his way.

Logically, Tyler should've taken it as a goodbye and go back inside to shower but he took his time to watch Josh's back disappear. Afterwards he'd look at his hand, remember the way Josh had did that weird handshake thing. And Tyler's lips would lift at the sides into a smile at the thought.


	9. 07

"Excuse me, what?" Tyler was wearing a confused frown.

"Were you too busy staring at my face to listen?" Despite Tyler not paying attention to him earlier, Josh simply looked amused. In fact, his smile grew wider when Tyler turned red from embarrassment.

"I was!" Tyler protested, arms folding across his chest as he leaned back in his seat. He had his eyes averted from Josh's so that Josh couldn't tell how flustered he really was; Josh was half-correct. Tyler had been staring at that new nose ring Josh had gotten himself and was wondering what it was like to have piercings. Not that he'd rock the look anyway. "Anyway, you said something about drumming."

"Yes. But where exactly did I say I'd show you my drums?"

"Are you trying to prove something?" Tyler responded, somewhat annoyed.

"Yeah," Josh said.

Tyler made a wild guess. "Your house, obviously."

"Where exactly?" Josh repeated his previous question although there was definitely more smugness in his tone this time.

"What? As in where exactly in your house?" Tyler scoffed. "How the fuck should I know?"

"You'd know if you paid attention," Josh teased. "Which you didn't."

Tyler scoffed and rolled his eyes before reaching for his coffee cup. He didn't even know what drove him to agree to meet Josh that afternoon after work. Maybe he'd just been greedy; Josh did say he was treating Tyler anyway and who in the right mind would turn their nose up at that offer. It's not a date, Tyler had thought to himself when he found Josh waiting for him in the back of the cafe they agreed to meet up.

"You've got a lot of nerve," Tyler said just as their food was served. "Teasing me like that, I mean."

Josh simply smiled. There was a lull in their conversation as they tucked in to their food. A part of Tyler was relieved that Josh didn't eat like a savage although he figured that was because Josh was trying to make a good impression. Either way, Tyler reminded himself that he should be on guard around this guy. From what he heard about Josh after digging around, Josh was known for involving himself in whirlwind romances. It didn't matter whether they were guys, girls or in between; he just went for them.

Of course, Tyler knew that by being here with Josh, he could potentially stir up something that would probably end in a disastrous way. Yet some stubborn part of him wanted to prove that he wouldn't end up as one of Josh's discarded trophy or lose to Ashley's bet. So there he told himself: keep it friendly but not too friendly that you give him ideas --

"You haven't given me an answer." Josh's voice broke into Tyler's thoughts.

"Is this about where exactly in your house you're gonna show me your drums?" Tyler asked, remembering the last topic they talked about.

Josh wore an expression that looked like he was both amused but hurt. He let out a laugh, shaking his head though to Tyler it appeared like strained. "I meant are you up to coming over to my place tomorrow or not."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Tyler glanced down at his food, slightly embarrassed. "Well, yeah. But after work, okay?" He paused. "And no funny business," he added.

"Fine, I won't bother you at work tomorrow then."

▬▬▬

To Tyler's detached surprise, he caught himself eagerly waiting for the hours to tick by till he could leave work so he could go to Josh's to see the boy drum. He didn't think he'd get this excited but there he was at the pool about an hour till lunch, glancing at the clock every so often. This didn't go unnoticed by Dallon, whose shift was today.

"Got somewhere to go?" Dallon asked when he passed by Tyler after retrieving his water bottle.

Tyler hesitated, doing a weird gesture. "Kinda, yeah."

"Ooh, is it a date or something?"

Tyler was glad that his face was already flushed from the heat so his embarrassment wasn't at all obvious. "No. Just meeting up with a friend, I guess."

"F is for friendship." Somehow Dallon's statement sounded teasing.

"Oh shush, Weekes." Tyler tried to push his mind to focus on anything but the idea of going over to Josh's later. It worked for only half a minute though. Once his shift ended, Tyler didn't take his sweet time to freshen up. On his way out of the staff area, he was waylaid by Ashley, who was bringing in lunch.

"Whoa, what's the hurry?" she asked though the tiny hint of amusement in her tone suggested to Tyler that she knew something.

"I have somewhere to be."

Ashley arched her eyebrows. "Really?" Tyler could tell she was teasing him. "Is it that important?"

Tyler had to put on a cool facade. "You can tell I'm in a hurry, right?"

"Well, you usually are but not like this," Ashley opined.

Tyler's heart gave a sudden flip in his chest. Attempting to play it cool, he did this half-assed wave of his hand that was meant to look dismissive and looked away. "See ya, Ashley." To throw her off his tail, Tyler gave her a pat on her head, to which she responded in surprise, and took that opportunity to leave. He spared no time dawdling, reaching home faster than he usually did.

However when he was making himself lunch he thought to himself  _Wait why am I so excited?_ Sure, it was satisfying to watch Josh drum the other day but was it even worth getting hyped up about? It might not even be as big of a deal as Tyler was currently making out to be. He sighed to himself, bringing himself back to chopping up the vegetables. "Get a fucking grip, Joseph," he muttered under his breath.

▬▬▬

Josh and Tyler had agreed to meet at Josh's place in the afternoon; the exact time was never specified but Tyler thought it'd be reasonable to show up at two o'clock. Reasonable in Tyler's defense, that is. He didn't want to look overly eager but at the same time he didn't want to seem like he was inconsiderate enough to make Josh wait.

"You can leave your bike in the garage," said Josh when he greeted Tyler at the door.

"I don't want to be much of a trouble," Tyler responded, hesitating. "I mean, I wouldn't want to accidentally scratch your grandparents' car or anything."

"They're not at home right now so it's cool." Deciding to go along with Josh, Tyler put his bike in the garage.

Now that the house wasn't crowded with people, Tyler could appreciate its interior fully. The place was larger than Tyler initially thought it'd be, with airy hallways that was decorated with that kind of old-fashioned floral wallpaper. There was even family portraits and Tyler thought he spotted Josh as a pudgy-looking baby in one of them. Despite the decorations in the house, something felt distinctively missing. Before Tyler could ponder on it, Josh had already led him to the music room.

Tyler had expected it to be filled with Josh's drum kit only but he realized he was wrong when he entered it. Curiosity bloomed on his features as his eyes landed on the various instruments in the room, all of which were luxuries he could never afford. There was a guitar rack stand to one side of the room next to a case Tyler suspected was for a brass instrument of a sort. The drum kit was there too across the room in a corner but what caught his attention was that piano in the middle of the room.

"Did you lose some screws?" Josh closed the door behind him. "You jaw looks like it could use some."

Face burning with both embarrassment and indignation, Tyler closed his mouth and tried to get a grip of himself. Looking around the room, he tried to think of something to ask Josh so that he wouldn't be the butt of a terrible joke again. "So those are the drums?" He cringed inwardly at his feeble attempt to sound uninterested.

"Nope." Josh had pulled out a pair of drumsticks from somewhere and took a seat at the stool. "They're the flugelhorns," he responded.

"Haha." Tyler rolled his eyes and took a seat on the piano bench, watching as Josh fiddled around with god-knows-what on the drums. Feigning interest was harder than he thought it'd be around Josh. He peered at the drum kit, counting the components. It was a five-piece kit, though it appeared to be custom-made as there was some sort of printed pattern on the snare drum. Tyler craned his neck to have a better look. "What kind of songs do you play?"

"It depends on what I feel like playing." Josh did a rim click. "Mostly it's just classical rock songs but back at my house, the one where I live for most of the year, I have a bigger kit on which I play to progressive metal music."

"Huh."

"It's crazy," Josh said, his tone sounding somewhat shy to Tyler, "but I like the challenge."

Tyler had never bothered listening to progressive metal music but judging from what Josh had said earlier he guessed it had a fast tempo. Probably faster than the Taiko-drum level he had seen Josh play at the arcade. Nodding, his eyes drifted back to Josh with a thoughtful look. "Play a song then."

Josh smirked, arching his eyebrow. "What song?"

"Anything that comes to mind."

Josh contemplated on that before he took his phone from his pocket. Getting up, he went to connect his phone wirelessly to a speaker set. Then he handed his phone to Tyler. "Pick a song then."

Hesitantly, Tyler accepted it and scrolled through Josh's music library. A tiny bit of him was expecting to see some unknown bands that gave him that metal-vibe but he was pleasantly surprised to find that Josh's music taste ranged from classical pieces to EDM. Not at all sure on what to pick since the list was extensive, Tyler scrolled up and when he saw a familiar song. "I'm gonna play American Idiot," he informed Josh.

"Ah, classic." The drummer readied himself just as Tyler hit the play button. A guitar riff began to play when Josh hit the drums the exact same time as the song did.

The whole time Josh played he looked like he was enjoying himself, bobbing his head to the beat, twirling his drumstick at every opportunity he got and flashing a smile in Tyler's direction. Every time he did those things, which was a lot of times, Tyler thought to himself  _What a show off_. But he would admit that Josh was putting on a great show. Soon Tyler found himself entertained and he was clapping his hand and tapping his foot to the music while Josh played. The moment when Tyler truly dropped the act of feigning disinterest was when the song progressed into the drum solo, to which he cheered appreciatively when Josh played to it successfully.

Tyler was laughing at the end of the song as he hit the pause button on Josh's phone. "That was great!"

"Oh shucks, you're making me blush," said Josh playfully though he looked satisfied with himself indeed. "You should give me something more challenging."

"It'll take me five thousand years to scroll through all of these!" Tyler protested but was already starting to find any other songs he could make Josh to play to.

"Well ..." Josh looked a bit embarrassed. "Never mind that then."

"Is Benzaiten by Seas Ate Canada challenging? Or do you feel like slowing it slightly for Finesse?"

Josh chuckled as he got up from his stool. "You should play something for me too."

Tyler shot Josh a surprised look. "I've got zero musical talent, unless you count the microphone," he said, "which I do terribly."

"Singing counts as a musical talent."

"Yeah, but no thanks." In truth, Tyler didn't feel confident about singing in front of Josh, or anybody for that matter. He only felt confident when he was in the shower where he could feel like musical sensation while he belted out tunes.

"Ashley says you play the piano."

Tyler looked away, letting out a strained laugh. "No no, it's the keyboard." He paused. "And it's not something I'm proud of, really."

Josh seemed disbelieved by Tyler's statement. Frowning slightly, he sat down beside Tyler at the piano bench. "Well, you have nothing to be embarrassed of here. It's just me," he said and this time he sounded serious.

Hesitation prevented Tyler from leaping right to it. "Yeah but ..." He glanced over his shoulder at the piano keys where Josh's hands had begun to poise over it. Tyler's lips folded together as he ran his thumb over his fingernails absentmindedly. "I think I'm just intimidated," he said honestly.

"Of whom?"

"You." Tyler gestured at the room. "I mean, look at all these instruments. I'm pretty sure you have a heck load of talent and that you can play all these as well as you play the drums."

Josh stared at Tyler. "That's where you're wrong." He began to point out instruments. "The drums is my main. This piano here is what my grandmother plays, but she hardly does these days. That violin there? I haven't played it in years. There's a case there by the guitar rack which has a saxophone my uncle used to play - he taught me the basics though I kinda forgot a bit of them. I'm still learning to play the electric guitars but I have a liking for that sweet bass there."

"Five," Tyler said, holding up fingers corresponding to the number he mentioned. "That's still more than what I play, which for the record, is one, if you don't count my terrible singing."

A small noise of amusement escaped from Josh. "Don't sell yourself short, Joseph."

Frowning, Tyler looked over his shoulder at Josh. It took him five seconds to think about what Josh had just said, and a fraction of that time to take Josh's words as an encouragement. "Move aside, Dun. I'm playing the piano."


	10. 08

"No, no. You're supposed to press them lightly." Tyler's hand poised over the piano keys. "Like this." A series of notes were played, their gentle sounds echoing throughout the room.

Josh did as Tyler had done but there was something off about his technique that caused the tune to sound different, making both boys cringe. Pushing back his dyed red hair absentmindedly, Josh let out a laugh that carried hints of self-deprecation. "Ah, well, I guess piano just isn't for me," Josh said. Stretching his legs carefully under the piano, he watched Tyler play a song from one of a tv show he wasn't familiar with.

"What time is it?" Tyler asked, the notes he played eventually fading into silence as his hands came to rest.

"Twenty past four," Josh replied, consulting his phone. "Wow, I can't believe I've been sitting here for more than an hour." Chuckling, he rose from the bench and stared idly at Tyler. "You should get up too," he told the other boy. "Sitting for long periods is the new cancer."

Tyler simply rolled his eyes but he was inwardly surprised that time had flown so fast since he came over to Josh's. He got up from the bench and walked towards the window. The sky was cloudless, an expanse of clear blue; he couldn't return home right away as he knew it'd be really hot outside.

"Do you have allergies?" Tyler looked away from the window to Josh, who had spoken.

"Only bullshit," Tyler answered, right off the bat. "Why?"

"I ... baked some cookies yesterday but I didn't have a chance to eat them till today," Josh explained, his hand resting on his nape as a sheepish smile rested on his features.

"What kind of cookies?" Tyler asked curiously.

"It's one of my grandma's secret recipe." Josh looked away. "But seriously, is there anything you're allergic to?"

"Nada." Tyler's mind began to cook up an image of Josh in a pink apron baking cookies and acting all domestic; the image was both so different from the Josh he was used to and so amusing, he had to turn around to hide the fact that he was laughing. Fortunately, Josh didn't say anything, either he noticed or didn't, but told Tyler to follow him to the kitchen.

Once they reached there, Josh made Tyler sit while he went to look for the container he stored the cookies in. "So do you want milk to go with the cookies or are you cool with coffee?" Josh asked, looking for something in the fridge.

"Milk's fine." Tyler let his eyes wander about the kitchen, secretly amazed at the modern design of the layout and how clean it was. Soon enough, Josh laid a plate of cookies before him and two glasses of milk on the table before taking a seat across Tyler. "Oh, it looks good," Tyler commented as he peered at the cookies - they were the classic chocolate-chip - and took one for himself.

"Well, I sure hope it tastes as good as it looks," Josh muttered as he dipped a cookie in his glass. When Tyler took a bite without dipping it in the milk, Josh waited until the other boy was finished chewing before asking. "So? What do you think?"

"It's a little bit hard." Tyler sipped some milk. "Too much flour?"

"Yeah, I might've put a little too much."

"And it could use a bit more sugar." Despite his suggestions, Tyler had another cookie when he heard a faint chuckle escape from Josh. "What?"

"You're still eating." Josh rested his elbow on the table and propped his chin up with his hand.

"So?" Tyler dipped the cookie in milk to soften the cookie and bit into it.

Josh grinned; this was a different kind of smile, Tyler noticed. There was less of that cocky way Josh's lips quirked upwards at the corners and more crinkling of his eyes at the sides. Though it was hardly anything remarkable, Tyler's cheeks heated in response and he was forced to look away. Hoping to draw attention away from himself, he said, "So, have you gotten a chance with Ashley?" It was admittedly the one of the worst question he could ask but there was nothing else he could think of.

That smile on Josh's face faltered before it was replaced with another expression Tyler hadn't seen on Josh before. "Oh, uh ..." Josh shrugged as he trailed off. "No." The way he responded this time around was clearer and less uncertain. "Not really. I've been busy lately."

Tyler arched an eyebrow skeptically. Did Josh expect him to believe that lie when all Josh had done lately was bother him at the swimming pool? Besides, Ashley was usually around at the country club the same time Tyler was. The possibility of Josh not seeing Ashley around was very slim indeed. However, Tyler didn't call Josh out on it, instead he said, "Well, I know she likes cookies so maybe you could make some for her."

A wry smile graced Josh's lips. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

After that conversation, Tyler felt like he had somehow killed the lighthearted mood, even though Josh insisted he hadn't. The tiny shred of guilt dug into his chest when he was aware of how differently Josh was acting around him. For one, he no longer acted as though Tyler was a friend but as some random stranger he had to be polite with - yes, Tyler was still practically a stranger, but that wasn't the main argument here. Not only that, Tyler felt closed off now from Josh.

"Yeah, I think I should head home now," Tyler said, getting up from the floor where he sat while watching Josh play the bass guitar.

"Huh? But it's still early." Josh frowned.

 _It's gotten too awkward for me and I just wanna leave before I make a fool of myself_ , Tyler thought. "Well, my parents should be home soon ... and y'know, I don't wanna entertain any weird questions from them."

"Weird?"

"Yeah, like 'Honey, where have you been?' or 'Who did you hang out with? Was it a boy or a girl?'" Tyler shrugged. "Y'know, that kind of thing." For some reason, Josh was staring at him as though he didn't know what Tyler was talking about. Perhaps Josh's parents didn't treat him as though he was always sneaking off or something. Lucky.

"Right." Josh looked down at his bass before setting it down on the floor. "Your parents must be strict."

"What? No. Well, not really." Tyler's lips pressed together briefly. "They used to be stricter but not anymore."

Josh smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Well, they must care for you a lot," he said but there was a wistful note in his tone that drew Tyler's attention.

"I guess." Tyler looked at the bass guitar. "But sometimes I feel like they like my siblings more than me."

"You have siblings?"

Tyler nodded, feeling a slight pang in his chest. "They're off at summer camp now, thank goodness, so I don't have to be reminded of how much better they are at everything than me. Don't get me wrong. I love them, but sometimes ... I guess you could say I hate them a little?" He shrugged again; it was hard trying to explain how he really felt and besides, Josh seemed like he couldn't relate to what Tyler was saying. "My parents are always comparing me to them and it makes me feel like I'm never good enough --"

"Tyler."

"Don't interrupt me."

"No,  _listen, Tyler_." The seriousness in Josh's tone caught Tyler's attention. An earnest frown rested on Josh's features as he regarded Tyler. "You're good enough, okay?"

 _Oh, you're just saying that to make me feel better_ , Tyler thought. But he kept his mouth shut and look away. "Yeah, thanks," he said tonelessly.

Josh's lips folded together into a thin line, allowing silence to follow. With a sigh, he got up and left the room before he came back minutes later. There was the distinct sound of keys jingling as he leaned against the doorjamb. "Let's get you home, then."

"Huh?" There was a crease in between his eyebrows as Tyler stared at Josh. "What do you mean - oh." Belatedly he noticed the car keys in Josh's hand. "Oh no, I'll just ride my bike back --"

"Your bike can fit in the trunk. I checked," he added when Tyler opened his mouth to reply, "and I've also put your bike in the trunk."

" _Seriously?_ "

The playful gleam in Josh's eyes was one that Tyler had grown to be familiar with. "So you coming or what?"

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Do you?" A drumstick came flying in Josh's direction and laughs could be heard echoing around the hallway.

▬▬▬

"No, that place doesn't have  _the_  best kimchi," Josh was saying as he and Tyler discussed about the food joints in town on their way to Tyler's. "I mean, it's decent enough but their kimchi missing a little  _something_."

"Well,  _I_  think their kimchi tastes amazing." Tyler shook his head. "But there's no accounting for taste anyway."

"I guess. But we should eat at where the place where I think has the best kimchi."

"Give it a break already, Dun." Tyler laughed. For him, car rides with friends were usually awkward because he never knew the right thing to say and conversations often came to a stop after a few sentences but with Josh it was different. It was like he knew what could get Tyler talking and how to keep the conversation going. Looking away from the road, he stared at Josh out the corner of his eye.

That made four times today that he studied Josh's features. The first time was when Josh was drumming, the second when he tried to play notes on the piano to accompany Tyler's tune, the third was when Josh was experimenting the time needed to dip a cookie to achieve the softness he wanted. And now was the fourth. Yes, maybe Tyler was being a little creepy watching Josh like this but really he was just fascinated.

How could a boy like Josh, who annoyed Tyler on end at where he worked, act so differently when they were away from the pool? How could being around Josh cause time to pass so quickly like the blink of an eye?

"Why the hell are you staring at me for?" Josh asked abruptly.

Turning his face away quickly, Tyler said, "I wasn't staring at you."

"Yeah you were." Josh grinned at him. This time, Tyler didn't jump to defend himself with a lie. "Anyway, we're getting close to your place, right?"

Tyler nodded but a tiny pang in him confirmed that he was disappointed they were arriving at their destination so soon. "Thanks for the ride," Tyler said once they reached the street where he lived.

"Don't sweat it." Tyler didn't remember asking Josh to help him take his bike from the trunk of Josh's SUV. As Josh placed the bike, letting Tyler hold on to the rest, a smile graced his lips. "Hey." He reached out and poked Tyler's forehead playfully, making the other boy look at him. "Thanks for coming over to my place."

Tyler's face felt hot. "Yeah, and thanks for helping me take my bike out of your trunk."

Josh chuckled, tucking his hands into his pocket. Yes, that smile was  _definitely_  different from the cocky one he usually wore at the pool. "See you tomorrow, Joseph."

And when Josh left, Tyler felt funny.

Breathless.

Hopeful.

There was also that fluttering feeling in his stomach.

"Fuck this shit." Tyler wheeled his bike into his garage.


	11. 09

The past few days, Tyler didn't know if he should feel flattered or annoyed that Josh was starting to make it a habit to stop by at the staff area, even though he was technically not allowed to. Yes, it was entertaining when Brendon and Josh fooled around by exchanging banters about any random topic to the point that the whole room was howling in laughter or when Josh managed to overthrow Ashley's streak of winning in card games, much to everyone's surprise. But the real question here why Josh was doing this.

During hours at work when nothing that needed Tyler's immediate attention, he took time to ponder over the reason to his question. Maybe it had started at the time when Josh was showing him to play the electric guitar. It was plausible, considering that they were comfortable enough to talk casually about their romantic interests. It came as no surprise that all Josh could say was how he wasn't picky on what type of person he would go after, as long as they were attractive and seized his attention easily (this reminded Tyler of what a douchebag Josh truly was, even if he was acting civil and non-douchebag-ish).

Tyler had been teased by Josh the moment he talked about his romantic interests, which was zero. "Did you take a vow of celibacy?" Josh had asked, much to Tyler's chagrin. The red-haired boy had laughed when Tyler cursed and punched his arm indignantly. "Well, I'm not saying that you should rush," Josh added, "but really, it explains why you act like such a stick in the mud. And a party-pooper."

"Yeah, sure," fumed Tyler. "Make fun of me all you want but I don't see you getting with Ashley." It had been ironic since Tyler was the one who was against Josh going after her like a hunter on its prey; Tyler regretted speaking after that. Josh hadn't pointed out his contradictions, thankfully, however the gleam in his eyes after that told Tyler he was back on the challenge.

"Hey Tyler, why don't you join us?" called Ashley, bring Tyler back to the present. Her, Dallon and Josh were currently playing yet another round of some obscure variation of Uno Tyler had never heard of, and they were playing for a bag of chips - sour cream and onion flavor, unfortunately.

"No thanks," Tyler responded, putting his lunchbox away. He hoped no one had realized he'd been staring at his empty lunchbox like a creep when he'd been deep in his thoughts earlier. "I don't like sour cream and onion."

Two people voiced their thoughts at once. "What kind of monster would not like sour cream and onion?" gasped Dallon and "Wow, someone sure is  _confident_  they'll win," said Josh.

Tyler frowned. "Number one, I'm not a monster for not liking that chips flavor - you might as well say that about the people who argue about pineapple on pizza. And number two, I never said I was confident. I'd win."

"You kinda implied it, but whatever you say, Joseph." That trademark smirk made an appearance on Josh's lips. It wasn't fair how a stupid lopsided grin could instantly increase his attractiveness factor by fifty when he did that. Not to mention he was looking really good today, wearing that snapback, black tank top with a weird logo on it, shorts and questionable pink flip-flops. Tyler didn't even like that style but Josh rocked it.

Immediately, Tyler's face reddened with indignation and embarrassment. "Oh, it's on," he said, rising from his seat. Whoops rose from the trio as they watched him walk right over to their side of the table and join them. Ashley took the trouble of gathering everyone's cards and shuffling them into the deck. She then explained they'd be playing the regular way of playing Uno instead of the variation they played earlier as she wanted a fair game before dealing the cards.

"Change of plans. One round. Whoever wins takes the chips. Also, I'll sit this one out," she said, leaning back in her chair. There was that twinkle in her eyes as she watched the three boys play.

Things were going fine on Tyler's end, although he felt he could've done better if his hand was better. Both Dallon and Josh were holding up well, which Tyler kinda wished they didn't. "Ah, mother trucker, I shouldn't have used my card earlier," Dallon muttered when Josh placed a Wild Draw Four, causing Dallon's hand to increase from a card up to five.

"Mm, let's go with red," said Josh unabashedly.

Tyler glanced at Josh nervously then at his hand. He had no red cards only a yellow 7, and a Wild Draw Four card. He sighed and placed the latter of the two cards from his hand to the discard pile. "Yellow," he said. "Uno."

"Ugh, this game is too easy for us," Josh complained as he took a card from the draw pile.

"Excuse you, but you're the one who provoked Tyler," Ashley pointed out, looking entertained. "Accept your fate, Josh." In response, Josh stuck his tongue out at her. Even if it was a playful gesture, Tyler didn't know why his chest tightened on its own accord.

"I can't believe I don't have a yellow," muttered Dallon under his breath as he drew a card, which was anything but the color he needed.

A rush of triumph filled Tyler as he put his last card down. "So, you were saying about me being cocky?" he asked Josh in the same mocking tone Josh had used on him earlier.

Somehow, Josh didn't seem as annoyed as he had been when he complained, rather amused. "I never said anything about you being cocky."

"You kinda implied it, but whatever you say, Dun," said Tyler, referring to Josh's earlier statement.

"Congrats!" Dallon pushed the sour cream and onion chips to Tyler. Tyler's gleeful grin faltered slightly at the reminder. "Now you get a bag of chips that's the flavor you don't like!"

"Wow, victory sure tastes great,"Josh remarked, "but maybe not for you."

Tyler rolled his eyes at them but took the bag. If they were going to start begging him to give his chips to them, he was going to say no and make some comment about how the chips were hard-won. Unfortunately, none of them did, and they seemed to be teasing him, so out of spite he opened the bag in front of them and ate a handful of chips. "There, I ate them," he said through a mouthful of chips, which was kinda painful since he didn't chew them properly and the sharp edges were digging into the sides of his mouth.

They simply stared at him, and Tyler took advantage of their silence by smiling shamelessly then taking it as his cue to leave. When he rode his bike back home afterwards, he replayed that moment again in his mind. However, no matter how hard he tried to focus on any other details that occurred during that moment, the only thing that was in perfect clarity was the look on Josh's face.

Amused. Impressed. And perhaps a little surprised.

Sour cream and onion chips didn't taste  _that_  bad after all.

▬▬▬

 

"May I know why you're calling me when at a time when I'm busy and how you got my number?" Tyler asked, pinning his phone in between the side of his face and his shoulder, while his fingers flew over his keyboard.

" _The fact that you answered my call tells me either I'm more important than what you're doing right now or that you're lying about being busy_ ," replied Josh from the other end of the line.

Tyler bit back a curse when his onscreen character took damage from his opponent, ruining his chance at getting a new in-game achievement. "You didn't answer my second question," he pointed out then hit the pause button. Spinning around on his swivel chair, he propped his feet up on his bed and held his phone.

" _I have sources_."

"So you were stalking me."

" _No, I asked Ashley_." For someone who gave a cryptic answer as though he wanted to keep the secret, he was shamelessly direct in revealing the truth.

"You could've texted me."

" _Texting is overrated_ ," Josh responded, " _and I wanted you to hear my beautiful voice_."

Tyler couldn't help but snicker. "Oh wow, the signal's getting bad," he said, imitating static sounds in between words. "Looks like you'll have to text me instead."

" _Bullshit, the signal's fine in your neighborhood_."

"You got me there," Tyler sighed ruefully. He rested his head back and stared up at the ceiling then looked to his side. His bedroom door was open, as per his parents' ridiculous no-closed-door policy, allowing strains of noise from the tv downstairs to enter his room. Guessing from the sounds, Tyler's parents were probably watching their favorite telenovela together right now.

"Anyway," Tyler said, returning to his conversation with Josh, "is there any specific reason why you're calling me now?"

Josh laughed from the other end of the line. Even though the sound of it wasn't too clear, coming out from his phone's shitty speaker, Tyler knew this laugh was a real one. " _It's your day-off tomorrow, right?_ "

"Yep."

" _Wanna ... hang out maybe?_ " The hesitation halfway in Josh's sentence was uncharacteristic of him.

A small crease formed on Tyler's brow. "Well ... I guess I can. But only in the afternoon. I have to help my mom out in the morning."

" _Yeah, okay. That's ... That's cool_."

The frown on Tyler's brow creased a little more. "What are we going to do tomorrow?"

" _Hang out._ "

"I'm sorry but the signal is not letting me hear a more specific answer. Or maybe it's just you?"

" _We're going sightseeing. I'll drive around and show you parts of this town._ "

Again, Josh's attempts at being cryptic was terrible. Really, Tyler didn't know if he should cringe or laugh. "Seriously?" he scoffed instead. "Is there any interesting place to see in this town?"

" _We'll see._ "

"You mean we'll  _sightsee_."

" _Oh come on, Tyler. Step up your game_.  _Your jokes are terrible_."

Tyler grinned. "Like your sense of humor." He didn't know why Josh's words weren't bothering him as much as it used to. Perhaps it was the way Josh said them or Tyler was getting used to it. Either way, it was so easy for Josh to make him smile these days.

" _I'll pick you up tomorrow. Is after lunch good?_ "

"Three. I wanna take a nap after lunch."

" _Okay sure_." There was a pause, one that followed when neither person wanted to be the first one to hang up the call. Tyler had his breath held and for some reason, he felt Josh was doing the same on the other end of the line. " _Yeah, you can hang up now_ ," said Josh, breaking the silence.

Tyler snorted. "No,  _you_  hang up."

" _No,_  you."

"You."

" _You_."

" _Maybe 'you' can be our always_ ," Josh quoted a popular YA novel with a twist of his own.

"You suck. Good night." With that, Tyler hung up the call and placed his phone on his desk. He stared up at the rotating ceiling fan idly, barely aware that the smile on his face from Josh's call hadn't left his face.


	12. 10

Tyler didn't know what was wrong with him the next day. For once, in a very long time, he didn't wake up feeling brain-dead, instead, was rather energetic despite having caught at least three hours of sleep, give or take. In his opinion, time was taking it slow today.

"This afternoon with a friend?" repeated Mrs Joseph while she examined the label of a can of soup through her bifocals. "Is your friend a boy or a girl?"

Tyler didn't even know why parents even bothered asking questions like this. Surely, they had had their fair share back when they were teenagers and knew how annoying it was to be asked. Not only that, Tyler was perfectly capable of behaving himself around people. He gave his mother a disbelieving look and said in the most nonchalant tone he had ever used, "Does it matter?"

"Well, it does for me," Mrs Joseph replied before putting the can back on the shelf. She glanced at the shopping cart then at her son, who had hastily erased his mildly annoyed expression. "Besides, you haven't told me who this friend of yours is," she pointed out. "Is it Pete?"

Tyler tried his best not to cringe. While he didn't have any misgivings towards Pete Wentz from homeroom, it was awkward to hang out with him sometimes since all he'd only ever talk obsessively about his interests and not give Tyler an opportunity to speak. They had only properly hung out togethrt once but Tyler had made a mistake of lying that Pete was his best friend to his mother one time because he wanted to escape the discrimination of not being socially apt.

"Nope."

"Is it Ashley?"

"Well, it's her friend."

"So the person you're hanging out with is a girl."

Inner Tyler was banging his head on a mental wall at his mother's response. "Mom, Ashley can have friends who are guys, girls or anyone in between," he said patiently. "And, no, her friend's not a girl."

"Oh?"

Judging from her tone, Tyler knew what was coming next so he added hastily, "It's nothing special, really. Ash thought he and I should talk about video games or something, since she pities my lack of social aptitude." Really, he was being sarcastic but apparently sarcasm wasn't his mother's lingo so he ended up with Mrs Joseph regarding him with a look of parental horror.

"You haven't been able to make friends at work?" Mrs Joseph asked, shocked.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Tyler was backpedaling desperately. "I mean, I have friends, it's just Ashley thinks I should ... expand my circle or something."

"Oh." Relief appeared on Mrs Joseph's features. "I see. Well, that's awfully nice of her."

Tyler nodded, going along with his little lie. "Yeah, I guess."

"Anyway, you should probably bring some snacks to share with him. Who knows if he might like the same stuff you do." As Tyler followed his mother to the snacks aisle, he couldn't help but be reminded of chips. Specifically the sour cream and onion flavored one.

▬▬▬

Morning took its course at a leisurely pace so Tyler kept himself busy by taking the initiative to clean his room and help his mother prepare lunch. The praises he received went over his head because all he wanted was a distraction, not compliments but that worked too. After getting his chores done and being more domestically productive than he had been since the start of summer, Tyler went to pick an outfit to wear later.

He didn't want to choose something that wasn't  _him_  and neither did he want to look like he hadn't put in effort. As he raided his closet, he couldn't help but feel worried. What if his fashion choice was garbage? Were button-downs appropriate for wherever they were going? Are tank tops okay? Should he go with camo shorts or jeans? What about shoewear; sneakers or boots? Once he was aware a pile of clothes had tossed unceremoniously on his bed, Tyler released a frustrated groan and plopped down on his swivel chair.

"Goddammit," he muttered vehemently, annoyed how his preparations was making him act like this. "It's not like you're dressing to impress Elmo," he added though there was a hint of halfheartedness in his tone. He gave one more glance at the clothes pile, silently judging his choices, then rose from his chair. "Fuck everything," he mumbled as he pulled a plain black tank top and skin-tight jeans. "Josh won't care what I look like anyway."

After putting away the clothes he had deposited on his bed, Tyler went to eat lunch with his parents downstairs before returning upstairs. The clothes he had picked were now neatly folded and placed atop his bed. Tyler had wanted to take a nap before Josh would come to pick him up but with all the anxiousness bubbling within him he doubted he'd be able to relax for a bit. While waiting for the clock to strike three, he whiled his time by playing video games but that only lasted for about ten minutes before he was seized with a strange bout of boredom.

So he decided to change his clothes and see how he looked in the mirror. A part of him was pleased that his appearance was plain enough not to deserve any gushing comments from his parents he wondered what Josh would say. Nothing, Tyler reasoned with himself, because what kind of person would have anything to say about Tyler's fashion choices? It wasn't as if it was particularly eye-catching anyway.

_Unless ..._

Tyler's eyes drifted towards the open door of the closet.

▬▬▬

"You look ...  _nice_ ," Mrs Joseph remarked when her son came downstairs to wait for Josh's arrival. "I didn't think you'd want to wear that shirt Aunt Lisa got you." It was a patterned one, pink flowers printed on a washed out thin black fabric, which hung loosely on his frame. When he had received it as a gift, he'd been annoyed his aunt had gotten the shirt at least two and a half sizes larger than he was until now.

Tyler did his best to look nonchalant but a part of him was relieved that his mother hadn't said anything that openly suggested she thought Tyler was a bit too dressed up for a casual hang out with a supposed friend. He shrugged and took a seat on the couch beside her in front of the tv. "I thought I should try to put some effort into dressing up," he said, "and what do you think?"

"You sure you're not sneaking out for a date?" There it was, the question Tyler was dreading.

"Mom."

"Just kidding," Mrs Joseph said but Tyler was skeptical.

There were about fifteen minutes till three, still too long a wait for Tyler till Josh would show up at the door. While it wasn't the best thing to assume Elmo would show up on the dot, it was all Tyler could hope from Josh because he was regretting asking for them to hang out at this time. Fortunately, Josh came over about seven minutes before their agreed time, according to the text Tyler received. "He's here," Tyler told his mother.

Just as he finished his sentence, the doorbell rang. Both Tyler and his mother exchanged looks before they got up to answer the door. Standing right there at their doormat with a winning grin was Josh.

Tyler couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed that, unlike him, Josh didn't try to dress up in a fashion that was slightly not Josh-like. Plain t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. The only thing that was different was how he skipped on the nose ring in efforts to look more like a regular guy and less of a rulebreaking douchebag to parents.

"Good afternoon Tyler and Mrs Joseph," greeted Josh as he extended a hand to Tyler's mother. "I'm Josh."

"Ah, Josh," Mrs Joseph responded though her eyes were drawn to his hair before Josh was given a once-over. Tyler hoped Josh would pass the mom test. Right on cue, Josh engaged Mrs Joseph with a bit of small talk when Mrs Joseph said, "Just a moment, Josh. I just need a word with Tyler."

"Sure thing," Josh acknowledged and walked to his car, which was parked across the street.

Mrs Joseph turned to Tyler once Josh was out of earshot. There was a serious look on her face. "He seems nice but first impressions can be misleading," she said. "So if he tries to give you anything funny or drag you into some shady business--"

"Mom, it's fine," Tyler reassured, slightly taken aback by his mother's judgment. In hindsight, he could hardly blame her since Josh had given him the troublemaker's impression when they first met too. "He's actually a nice guy," Tyler added. "Don't worry too much. I can take care of myself."

"Okay."

"Mom, you can let go of my arm now." Exchanging an awkward goodbye on his part, Tyler made his way towards Josh's car. "You should really lock your doors, y'know," Tyler said without preamble after he entered the vehicle. "There are wacky people in this neighborhood."

Josh grinned. "Who in the right mind would want to wander around in this heat?"

"Wacky people." Tyler buckled his seatbelt.

"So what does your mom think of me?"

Tyler faced Josh. "She thinks you're some lawless kid who deals drugs or something."

"What?" It was amusing how Josh's expression had shifted so quickly to surprise.

Tyler shrugged.

Regaining his composure, the corners of Josh's lips turned upwards at the sides. "Well, you should introduce me to your mother properly so I can show her that I'm the best man she could ever meet besides your dad," he said as he turned on the ignition.

Tyler was cringing while his face heated up. "Joshua, do me a favor and shut up."

"No can do, Tyler." Josh chuckled as he began to drive. Then he spared Tyler one more glance. "By the way, that floral shirt looks really good on you. I like it. Thought you should know."

Tyler's face heated at once.


	13. 11

"Where are you taking me?" Tyler asked after about five minutes, ending the period of silence between them. It hadn't occurred to him to ask as he had been slightly embarrassed by his mother's impression of Josh.

"It's a secret," Josh answered with the hint of the smugness of knowing something others didn't. For some reason, he looked in a really good mood for someone who was suspected by someone else's mother to be a drug dealer. The casual way he held the wheel, the easygoing smile on his face, the teasing way he glanced at Tyler - it wasn't really Josh-like to Tyler, but then the side of Josh Tyler was accustomed to was the obnoxious pool user so he really wasn't the best judge.

"Are you going to sacrifice me to a cult?" Tyler ventured. "Because you not telling me where we're going is giving me the whole 'I'm gonna sacrifice one Tyler Joseph to Satan' vibe."

"Good question but the Dr Pepper Cult doesn't need any blood sacrifices done this week."

"The Dr Pepper Cult?"

Josh nodded. "The Supreme Leader's Dallon and I'm the Supreme Tyler Antagonizer --"

"Oh fuck off," Tyler scoffed but was grinning all the same. "Dr Pepper Cult? Like the drink?"

Josh nodded. "Dr Pepper is great."

Tyler was about to opine on the carbonated drink's taste when he thought better of it and shook his head. As the brief pause was a sure sign their conversation was about to die once more (which he didn't want, for some reason) he turned on the radio. While fiddling with the pre-set stations, Tyler tried to think of something interesting to talk about; this was something he didn't do on a norm because there was just too much pressure and too high of a risk to sound kinda stupid for bringing up random topics.

"Did you know reading a book is like staring at a dead piece of a tree for hours?" Tyler turned to look at Josh and immediately regretted speaking at all because Josh was looking at him funny.

"That's," began Josh, sounding confused, "disturbingly true but --" He broke off, eyebrows furrowing, though the corners of his mouth was lifting. "You do know that mammals have fur and produce milk, right?"

"Your point is?"

"Does that make a coconut a mammal?" Josh asked and Tyler snickered. "What? I'm serious!"

A part of Tyler couldn't believe that he was laughing to that, as silly as Josh had sounded. He shook his head at the driver though he was grinning in amusement. The drive went on with Josh and Tyler talking about anything under the sun from shoe sizes to ridiculous conspiracy theories concocted by the internet. Tyler didn't think he had enjoyed talking to Josh this much neither did he take Josh for an engaging conversationalist. Soon, they came to at a convenience store.

"Gimme a sec, yeah?" Josh gave Tyler a light tap on the arm before getting out of the SUV. Tyler stared after him for a few moments, hands grasping the seatbelt for whatever reason, before looking away. It was then when he was aware of how much he was smiling; back when he met Josh it would've been unthinkable he'd enjoy the boy's company yet here he was, waiting patiently for Josh with a goofy smile on his face.

Rolling up his sleeve, Tyler inspected his forearms, or more specifically, his sunburn blister scars. There were few of them but the most prominent one to him was the one on his left forearm, just right. It had a funny shape, like some deformed heart at some angles or a funky looking potato. Right now, the scar reminded Tyler of how he had first met Josh; at that time, the boy didn't leave a good impression on Tyler but now it was gradually difficult to associate the side of Josh he knew now with that obnoxious pool user he met.

A tiny knock on the window snapped Tyler from his reverie. He unlocked the doors and Josh got into the car, bearing bags of snacks. Tyler couldn't help but try to peek into opaque material of the bags, wondering what kinds of snacks Josh had gotten, as Josh placed them in the backseat. 

"Yo," Josh said, just to catch Tyler's attention.

"Yo."

"What are you thinking about?"

Tyler shrugged, cheeks heating up. "Nothing important," he said airily though his voice was a bit too strained for nonchalance; there was no way he'd let Josh know he was thinking about him, at least not yet. Wouldn't Josh think it'd be weird? Probably. Tyler's attention shifted from the conversation to an imaginary loose thread on his shirt. Josh didn't make a further comment even though he had noticed Tyler's change in behavior.

▬▬▬

As Josh had promised, he did take Tyler sightseeing around parts of town that even Tyler never been to. In hindsight, it was a bit embarrassing since Tyler had lived here his whole life whereas Josh only came here during summers, although this wasn't his biggest concern and he could hardly care about it as he was having a good time exploring with Josh. It was a good thing days in summer lasted longer.

As they stopped by at a frozen yogurt parlor from a nearby park where there were amazing art murals, Josh consulted his phone and said, "Okay so there's one more place I have to show you." At that statement, Tyler experienced a twinge of disappointment in his chest.

"Really?" Tyler took a spoonful strawberry fro-yo out of the serving he and Josh was sharing. There was a thoughtful look on his face. "I didn't think it would end so fast," he added ruefully.

Usually when he hung out with his friends from school, he was certain he was the first one to want to return home. He felt the opposite of that with Josh; no way did he want today to end.

"Well," Josh began, picking a marshmallow off the fro-yo, "lucky for you, the last thing on our agenda will probably take the longest time."

Tyler's eyebrows quirked upwards but not before his cheeks had turned slightly pinker than usual. "Our agenda?" he repeated.

"Would you rather call it Joshler's List of Things To Do In Summer?"

Tyler laughed. "Joshler, huh? What the hell."

"It's Josh and Tyler."

"I know, but --" Tyler shook his head but was smiling all the same. He couldn't deny the fact that his heart had fluttered. He looked away, lashes half-veiling his eyes as he did.

Once they left the parlor, Tyler was filled a strange sensation of lightheadedness. An mixture of excitement and nervousness bubbled in his bloodstream. He couldn't keep still during the ride to wherever Josh was taking him. He kept finding an excuse to move as a way to release all that sudden build up of energy. Tapping his finger on his knee to a beat, humming softly along to the songs played on the radio and even resorting to asking the are-we-there-yet question.

"You'll see." Josh could tell Tyler was growing restless and appeared to be enjoying every minute of it. However, that wasn't the case in his head because Josh was nervous. His pulse was drumming away in his ears, his palms were sweaty and he had a vague feeling of wanting to throw something up.

The car drove along a winding road Tyler wasn't familiar with, up a hill that overlooked the town. Woods flanked both sides of the path they travelled on though they appeared more welcoming than threatening, given they were sporting lush green leaves and were tall enough to shade the road from the summer rays. Though Tyler had a faint idea of where they were going, he had never been to the top of the hill and was curious to see what was there.

Soon, the car came to a stop at the end of the road at the top, a steel barrier erected there to prevent cars from driving over and plunging down the slope. Josh parked the car on reverse so the trunk was facing the barrier and the view beyond it. "Let's go,"Josh said as he turned off the ignition though he hardly needed to do so as Tyler was eagerly unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car.

"Whoa," Tyler breathed as he walked towards the barrier. Eyes gleaming with amazement and curiosity, Tyler peered down the slope beyond the barrier then at the view of the town. It was one thing to see the town in itself but it was definitely another to see it from a high vantage point. Not only that, it was breezy up here which kinda cancelled out the summer heat. A huge, almost goofy grin, sat on his lips as he stared out.

Josh had already opened the trunk and was spreading out a mat on the compartment's floor. "Great view, huh?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder. He was amused that Tyler hadn't turned away just yet.

"Ooh, there's a binocular thingy."

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you. It looks like it's filled with tetanus," said Josh, without even needing to turn around to know Tyler wasn't even listening him.

Tyler stepped away from the mentioned object, shaking his head but grinning all the same. He turned around, finding Josh sitting in the trunk. "Catch," Josh as he tossed a can of fizzy lemonade from a cooler. Tyler caught it, the cold aluminium sending a sudden numbness in his hands; he nearly dropped it from surprise.

Taking a seat beside Josh, Tyler opened the can and drank out of it, the liquid fizzing on his tastebuds. "How did you know about this place?"

"A couple of friends brought me here one time," Josh said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Not a bad place, though."

"Yeah."

The cool numbness was starting to sting Tyler's hands, which was clasped loosely around the can. He wiped his palms then went back to holding it. "How do you know so many people?"

"Hm?" Josh opened a container of sandwiches they'd bought earlier and helped himself to some. "Magic," he deadpanned.

Tyler scoffed and took a sandwich. "I mean, for someone who comes here every summer, it's quite a feat to find so many friends," he mused aloud. "How do you keep contact with people here and people back home?"

Josh shrugged. "Maybe because I'm hot and I seem to have an awesome social life back home so people just want to keep up with it," he said jokingly. "It's not as great as it seems, really. I bet more than half of them just want the drama."

"Ah." Tyler wasn't really convinced but maybe he didn't need to know the exact details. Besides, was the part Josh's life that was Tyler-less really worth knowing? He took a sip of the saccharine artificially-flavored lemonade and allowed it to rest in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing it. "How do you manage? With all the drama, I mean."

Josh shrugged. "People will always talk." He stared at his sandwich thoughtfully. "You were at that party, right? The one my grandparents busted."

"Yeah?"

"I don't even know a quarter of those of people," Josh admitted. "They're all just people my friends know who's like 'Oh, Josh Dun? Son of Bill Dun, CEO of the Air Catcher Development Corporations --"

"Wait, what?" Tyler frowned at Josh. "I didn't know you were  _that_  rich." Sure, Josh's grandparents' house had suggested the wealth but he didn't think Josh was the son of some influential person he saw on occasion in the news.

"This doesn't change anything between us, does it?" There was wariness and apprehension in his tone.

"No," Tyler answered truthfully. "Although it does explain why you acted like you own the Frangipane's country club. 'Cause, y'know, spoiled brats tend to do that. I'm not saying you're a brat though."

"Okay but father does own the club," Josh said. "Actually, he co-owns it but yeah."

"Oh." Suddenly, Tyler felt embarrassed. "Oh man, you didn't tell on me for being a stuck-up lifeguard, did you?" he inquired worriedly.

There was a devious smirk resting on Josh's lips. "So what if I did?" he said like a mockery of innocence.

"Josh!"

The red-haired boy laughed, eyes crinkling at the sides endearingly. "I'm kidding! Tyler, relax!" Josh had a hand placed on Tyler's chest as though attempting to appease him. "I'm not gonna lie, it was funny when you acted like some self-righteous Lifer."

Blood had rushed into Tyler's cheeks, making them embarrassingly red. "Don't scare me like that!" His voice was slightly higher than usual.

"Okay, I got it." Josh shook his head, lifting his hand away from Tyler's chest. Strangely enough, even though his hand was gone, there was a ghost of the feeling of his hand on Tyler's chest.

Sighing, Tyler prodded Josh's foot with his foot. "You're mean," he said. "Fuck you," he threw in as an afterthought.

"I am wounded by your feeble insult," gasped Josh, pretending to be hurt. Then he snickered and nudged Tyler with his elbow. It was then when Tyler realized how close they were sitting together. Less than five inches of air separated the two of them from having direct contact with each other; how had he not realized it at all? Despite that, a part of Tyler didn't mind it one bit. In fact, the fact that they were this close made his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

He was oddly exhilarated.

Josh cut a glance at Tyler, a discreet one, and a small smile graced his features. "Hey, Tyler," he said, loud enough for only Tyler to hear.

"Hm?" Tyler looked up, hoping what he was thinking wasn't showing itself on his face. "What is it?"

"So far, I think I've really enjoyed my summer," Josh said in the same volume as earlier.

"Me too," Tyler said though his words were hesitant. "I mean, it's more fun than the summers I used to spend. I'm more of a homebody person."

Josh's eyebrows arched. "So this is out of your comfort zone?"

Tyler nodded. "But it's all good. I really enjoyed myself so far." He was about to add that he was certain his mother would also thank Josh for giving him an excuse to go out but the words didn't sound right for the occasion. He pressed his lips together. "Yeah," he added awkwardly.

Josh snorted but said nothing. The moment of silence was anything but awkward; it was the sort of quiet that one could appreciate of not needing words to communicate in the presence of another human being. Tyler snuck a glance at Josh, who was staring out into space, looking like he was thinking of everything and nothing at the same time. Tyler wondered what was on his mind and whether Tyler was any part of his thoughts like he was in Tyler's.

"What's on your mind?" Josh asked abruptly.

"Huh?" Tyler's voice had gone higher than usual.

"You've been staring," Josh noted, sounding pleased, "for longer than what's socially acceptable."

Tyler scoffed, ignoring how hot his face grew, and tried to laugh it off. "You must be imagining things --" He broke off when Josh leaned closer with narrowed eyes. "What?"

Josh stared at him.

So Tyler stared back. But for some reason, a certain urge tugged him, causing his gaze to slowly slide downwards to Josh's face and come to a rest on the boy's lips. That urge tugged - no, this time it was daring him to lean closer. It made him wonder about what it'd be like to feel Josh's mouth on his, whether it'd taste like fizzy lemonade.

The corners of Josh's lips quirked the same time his eyes gleamed; it seemed he knew what Tyler was thinking of. Unlike Tyler, he leaned closer, eyes shutting as his nose brushing against Tyler's. Their lips barely met each other but the contact was enough to make Tyler's entire being to tingle.

So Tyler completed the rest of the journey, tilting his head so that his lips and Josh's were together.


	14. 12

Apparently the media had exaggerated a few details about first kisses like sentimental music playing in the background, becoming a good kisser despite having no experience whatsoever, dreamy sighs and whatnot. Not to mention they did leave out the bit where first time kissers would feel awkward as fuck when kissing.

A part of Tyler wanted to crawl into a hole and die when his kiss with Josh didn't go right the first time around. In fact, he came in a little too fast and ended up squishing his lips against Josh's painfully. And their teeth clashed at least twice now.

Fortunately, Josh was patient with Tyler's attempts, even laughed good-naturedly at him. "Relax," he whispered when he drew back from Tyler, who was screaming inwardly at his incompetence. Cupping Tyler's cheeks, Josh nuzzled him before kissing him once more. This time, his lips guided Tyler's, molding perfectly against the other boy's mouth and setting the rhythm. And Tyler followed, heart racing and heat rushing in his entire being.

Once they were comfortable with the pace they were going at, Tyler had regained his confidence and was enjoying their kisses. He didn't think he'd feel this excited, happy and lightheaded at the same time - it was like being drunk, basically, except on Josh's lips rather than alcohol. He didn't want this moment to end; if he could store this moment in a bottle of eternity, he'd do it in a heartbeat so he could have it forever.

But forever was an illusion and eventually Josh pulled away from Tyler, leaving Tyler's lips tingling from his kiss. With a smile, Josh regarded Tyler tenderly with that warm gaze, running his finger over Tyler's cheek and just at the corner of Tyler's mouth. "Oh don't look so disappointed," he said coyly.

Tyler gave a tiny start and glanced away hastily. Blood rushed into his cheeks. "I-I'm not," he protested. He was at a loss of words. Shaking his head slightly, Tyler turned away from Josh when the full realization that he just had a makeout session slapped him in the face.

Tyler and Josh. Josh and Tyler.

If it was possible, Tyler felt more embarrassed but also strangely proud of himself.

"Sure," Josh hummed, taking a sip out of the can of lemonade that was place on the floor of the trunk. At this point, none of them knew whose can belonged to who. Tyler didn't understand how Josh could act so cool about what had happened between them whereas his emotions were battling for recognition within him. "Hey, how are the sandwiches by the way?"

Tyler rounded on Josh at once, wearing an expression that was halfway between utter disbelief and complete exasperation. "We just fucking kissed," began Tyler, helping himself, "and all you can ask about are the damn sandwiches?"

Josh shrugged but appeared faintly amused. "Well, it's called a distraction. I mean, you looked super embarrassed so I thought it was a good call to ask about the sandwiches." Then a crooked smile sat on his mouth. "But if us about kissing is such a big deal then I'm guessing that I was your first?" His tone smug, which annoyed Tyler and reminded him of that obnoxious pool user Josh was the first time they met.

"Oh shut up," Tyler snapped, elbowing Josh. "That wasn't my first kiss."  _With a person_ , Tyler thought,  _but it was my first_ _makeout_ _session with anyone_. He drained the last drops of his lemonade then discarded the can in a plastic bag. Then he sat back and tried to make himself enjoy the view of the town spread out below them, in attempts to prove the point that he wasn't making a big deal out of anything.

However there was that thing called desire residing within him and it was demanding to relive that moment, if not something more out of it.

"Well, I guess that's that." Josh had also finished his lemonade and the sandwiches. He hopped out of the trunk, wiping his hands with wet wipe. He turned to Tyler, who was studiously observing anything except Josh. "Do you wanna sit there in the trunk while I drive you home or what?"

Tyler gave him a sharp look then hopped out of the trunk. After cleaning up the back of the car together, they made their way back to Tyler's. There was no flow of conversation between the two during the ride, only music to fill the quiet. Actually, Tyler wanted to talk. But he was afraid he might make things awkward or make himself look like a fool. So he sat there staring out the road in contemplative silence, occasionally stealing a glance at Josh from the corner of his eye.

By the time they rolled up at Tyler's driveway, Tyler felt as though there was a heavy weight in his stomach. He stared at his house, from where Josh's car was parked across the street. There was a tiny voice in him, his conscience, telling him that if he left this car, he'd probably leave something important to him too. So he turned to Josh, who was staring at him, and said, "So thanks for the ride."

Tyler couldn't believe he was trying to buy himself precious time he didn't own.

Josh's eyebrows quirked upwards slightly but he smiled. "No problem."

Tyler nodded. Then he waited, but for what he wasn't certain. "Also thanks for today."

"You're welcome."

Tyler's pulse was deafening in his ears. He raised his gaze directly to Josh's now. "Josh, whatever happened earlier at the hill --"

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Josh said calmly. "If you didn't like it, then it's --"

"I liked it." Tyler's voice was soft. Josh stared at him. Drawing a breath, Tyler repeated himself in a steadier voice, "Josh, I liked it. And if it's okay, then ... can we do it again sometime?" he asked. "Not just the kissing but, like, the spending time together part." He couldn't believe what he was spouting in his state of nervousness.

Josh didn't respond immediately, instead considered Tyler's words, before he smiled. This time, it wasn't that mischievous grin or that teasing smirk; it was the one that made Tyler's insides feel like mush. "Yeah," he said, voice carrying an adequate amount of affection that made Tyler want to run out and screech with joy. "We could do that." Then he reached and held Tyler's chin in between his thumb and forefinger.

Tyler drew in a sharp breath, waiting. Then Josh leaned closer, enjoying the way Tyler's eyes were looking at him expectantly. "See you tomorrow." And there was a peck, a kiss that was barely there but left Tyler longing for more than just that, when Josh drew back. "Now off you go."

Tyler had never felt clumsier in his life when he struggled to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car.

▬▬▬

"Someone seems to be in a good mood tonight," remarked Mr Joseph teasingly, bringing Tyler back to the present. "Care to share what happened today?"

Tyler's eyes widened when he gave an awkward laugh. "Nothing." He was helping his father do the dishes - the dishwasher had broken down yesterday and they had yet to get it fixed. "Just had a great day with someone, I guess."

"That's good to hear," Mr Joseph said, passing a dish to Tyler to wipe with a rag. "Your mom tells me you hung out with that Dun boy, the one who comes to town every summer."

Tyler could feel a prickle of unease. "Um, yeah," he said. "Is there something I should know?"

"Know what?" Mr Joseph looked confused.

Tyler exhaled in relief.

"Anyway, I'm glad you found a new friend," Mr Joseph said. Tyler smiled awkwardly, wondering what Mr Joseph would think about today's incident between his son and Josh and whether he'd still call Josh as Tyler's friend. Come to think of it, Tyler didn't know if he could call Josh a friend anymore. The word had sounded foreign, even before he and Josh were on good terms, but now 'friend' sounded alien.

The thought remained in his mind for the whole night, temporarily dispelled when he occupied himself with distractions but returning during moments of idleness. This shouldn't be such a big issue, Tyler told himself when he was about to go to sleep, but if it bothered him so much then he should ask Josh. That managed to stop him from fretting until the next day when he saw Josh at the pool. Cue inner Tyler reminding Tyler of last night's thoughts.

"Hey," Tyler called to Josh, who was doing laps at the pool. But the moment Josh looked at him, Tyler hesitated.

"What's up?" Josh asked as he got out of the pool, pushing back wet strands of dyed red hair from his face. Water glistened in the sunlight on his skin as he moved towards Tyler.

Tyler realized he'd been staring too long. "Nothing," he said hastily. Swiveling on his heel, he went back to lifeguard duty and left Josh staring after him in bafflement.

For the following week, Tyler had done his best not to question what he should be calling that thing between him and Josh but every so often it'd creep up on him like an itch that was mostly forgotten but remembered at inconvenient times. Also, the fact that he and Josh would find excuses to be close to the other, steal kisses when they were alone together, sometimes made out with each other, every time they hung out.

The time when Tyler asked was when he and Josh were spending their afternoon at Josh's place, in the music room. It had become one of their favorite haunts, due to their love for music, but also because Josh's grandparents were never home during the day for some reason. Josh had been showing Tyler how to play an acoustic guitar. It started off as teaching Tyler a simple song, comprising for four notes, but somehow it had turned into a little game where Josh would reward Tyler with a chaste kiss on the cheek every time Tyler got something right.

At least, that was what Tyler figured was Josh's intention - and attempt to flirt - but Tyler's thoughts weren't so chaste.

"There we go." Josh was sitting a little away from Tyler now, watching as the boy tried strumming the guitar with awkward fingers. "You've got it."

"Oh shut up, I'm terrible," said Tyler, putting away the guitar when Josh came over and kissed the tip of his nose.

"There's a fine line between modesty and downplaying yourself for attention," Josh quipped. Tyler wanted to answer something witty but decided not to because Josh was kissing him. They ended up on the floor, with Josh's mouth sucking gently at the spot right between Tyler's jawline and ear - Tyler's favorite spot. One of Tyler's hands was running its fingers in Josh's hair while the other gripped his arm.

"Josh," Tyler began, barely able to string his words together, "what are we?"

Josh stopped kissing at once then drew back. Tyler would like to think he was taken aback by the question but the logical part of him argued that Josh understood the question perfectly. Josh didn't say anything, regarding Tyler for a few moments. "Anything you want us to be," he whispered.

A small crease formed on Tyler's brow before he traced his index finger over Josh's lips. "Anything?" he asked, detachedly wondering if his heartbeat was as loud as he heard in his ears.

Josh smirked, pressing a kiss onto Tyler's palm as the other boy touched his cheek. "Mhm," he responded.

Tyler nodded then continued touching Josh idly. He couldn't call Josh a friend anymore - what they had done wasn't generally what regular people did with  _their_  friends. He couldn't call Josh a boyfriend because they hadn't discussed that yet and it didn't feel right going around tell people they were in those waters. But did he really need a label? Couldn't he just enjoy what he was experiencing now without needing to name it? Surely, he could, couldn't he?

Josh had gotten off Tyler and was now lying beside him on the floor; their shoulders were touching but there was such a huge amount of distance between their hands despite being so close to each other. "So what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"Huh?"

Josh laughed, turning his head so he was looking at Tyler. "It's your turn to pick, remember?"

"Oh yeah." The two of them had agreed they'd take turns deciding where to hang out together. Tyler exhaled audibly, staring up at the ceiling. "We could hang out at mine."

"Sounds good. But are your parents okay with that?"

"They'd rather I spend an afternoon with a  _frie_  - with  _someone_  than be alone." Tyler cursed inwardly at his slip of tongue. No, friend was not a word to describe him and Josh, he told himself inwardly.

Luckily, Josh thought nothing of that, instead seemed enthusiastic about the idea. "Cool. Maybe you could introduce me to your parents or something."

Tyler snorted, smacking Josh's arm playfully. "You wish," he said but put Josh's suggestion into consideration. It should be a good call to help Josh establish a good impression on his parents so that things wouldn't be awkward if Tyler were to describe what the thing between him and Josh was. "Hey, Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we get back to where we stopped?"

Josh laughed then resumed his position on top of Tyler once more.


	15. 13

"You know what we should all do tomorrow?" Ashley asked aloud, looking from Dallon to Brendon then Tyler. The group was hanging out at the country club's cafe and were enjoying a free lunch because of Ashley.

"What?" Brendon frowned, clicking away at his mouse with a frown on his face. He hadn't bothered to look up as his attention was engaged by the game he was playing on co-op mode with Tyler. His glasses reflected the light emitted from his laptop screen. "Wait, lemme finish this round -  _cocksucking_ _twat_!" A few gazes were directed at the group, ranging from looks of disapproval to glances of curiosity.

Beside Brendon, Dallon rolled his eyes and nudged both the other boys from under the table. "Seriously, we all came here to eat, not enjoy the free wifi and ignore everyone else."

"Preach," said Ashley just as their food was served by a waiter. "Thanks, Jake," she said to him before turning her attention back to her friends. "Anyway, could you two please stop playing?" She stared at Brendon and Tyler pointedly, crossing her arms.

A few minutes passed before Brendon and Tyler finished their game, giving each other a victory bro-fist before they put away their laptops. "Okay, what was your question?" asked Tyler as everyone ate their food. Ashley repeated her question from earlier.

"Sleep," answered Brendon. "Ow, Dallon, stop kicking me!" He scowled at his unapologetic friend before looking back to Ashley. "Sorry, were you suggesting we hang out together?"

"Duh," Ashley responded.

"Okay, but my schedule's booked for the morning with Tyler and Brendon has a shift in the afternoon with Lynn," informed Dallon thoughtfully.

"Right, but I've smoothed it all out with Dad," said Ashley, "and he's totally cool with closing the pool for a day so we can all hang out." All the boys at the table stared at her as though she had lost all her teeth. "I'm not joking, okay?" Ashley promised, uncertain as to why her friends looked so shocked. "We really need the whole day to spend at the boardwalk," she explained.

All Tyler could think of was how he had planned an afternoon with Josh at his place. They were going to watch Star Wars together, probably canoodle on the couch while they were at it, and enjoy each other's company. Though he didn't want to be that person who made excuses not to hang out with their friends, Tyler wanted to. Sure, he liked his friends but he wanted to spend time with Josh more. "Oh, but I'll be a bit busy," he told Ashley airily.

Ashley broke off in midsentence while she was talking to the other two, a crease appearing between her eyebrows. "A bit busy?" she echoed after him, skeptical.

Tyler nodded, hoping she wouldn't ask too much. "I don't think I can reschedule." His heart gave a skip when she narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a knowing look. Worry squeezed his chest but he tried to play it off. "What?" he managed to say in an indifferent tone.

A crooked grin sat on Ashley's lips. "You don't happen to be ... say, hanging out with a certain somebody behind our backs, right?" There was a teasing note in her voice.

An awkward and strained chuckle escaped from Tyler. "Why would I be doing that?"

"Oh, he's  _definitely_  hanging out with someone," Brendon speculated, causing Tyler to shoot him the stink-eye.

"I'm not."

"Denial confirms our suspicions," said Dallon, who really wasn't helping. Tyler respected Dallon but right now, not so.

"Look, I can hang out with whoever I want and it doesn't have to involve every of you, alright?" Tyler shook his head in exasperation. "But if you want to know so badly, we were planning to stay in and watch movies, that's all."

"Romantic," teased Ashley. Tyler's ears turned red. "Okay, Tyler, I was actually planning for all of us to hang out at the amusement park," explained Ashley, "which would be totally cool if you could come with us, preferably with that mystery person you're hanging out with." She held up a finger as Tyler began to splutter. "If it's not such a big deal, then it shouldn't be a problem to explain the change of plans, right? Also, to make things fair, Brendon and Dallon will bring their dates too."

"Hey, I'm all about bringing Sarah," began Brendon, "but who the fuck are you going to bring?"

"Myself," Ashley responded unabashedly.

"How is that fair?" Dallon demanded.

"Look, I organized this hang out so I believe I'm exempted from bringing a date with me," Ashley said.

Tyler opened his mouth then shut it, fuming inwardly. "Fine," he muttered under his breath, much to Ashley's delight. A part of him sent a silent prayer to whatever divine entity who was listening to not make things fucked up after his following sentence. "Okay, I'll see how it goes. But no guarantees."

▬▬▬

After explaining to his parents about why he'd be off-duty tomorrow and informing them of his plans at dinner, Tyler texted Josh about the change of plans. Fortunately, Josh didn't find it inconvenient that they had to postpone their movie date and seemed eager about the hangout with Ashley and the rest.

 _Okay but I haven't told Ashley about us_ , Tyler mentioned in his text. While waiting for Josh's reply, he tapped his index finger on the side of his phone.

 _So tell her_ , Josh replied as though it was the easiest thing to do in the world next to breathing. Tyler scoffed, rolling his eyes at Josh's text.

He began to type his response, wanting to explain that he and Ashley had a bet - Tyler had lost because the other day he and Josh were making out and had included tongue and butt. But just as he was about to send, he considered what he just typed. Had Josh not been the subject of the bet, he wouldn't have felt guilty when he reread his response. Pressing his lips together, Tyler deleted the chunk of his explanation before saying,  _lmao why don't you tell her?_

Apparently sarcasm couldn't be relayed over text because Josh left Tyler's text on  _Read_  for a couple of minutes. Enough time to make Tyler regret saying that.

 _Dude, I'd actually kill you if you told her_ , Tyler's text read.  _I'm serious_.

 _Too bad_ , Josh replied. Tyler was about to consider sneaking out of the house to Josh's so he could strangle the boy when another text came in.  _Looks like you'll have to deal with me for a little longer because I_ _didn_ _'t_.

Cool relief washed over Tyler. "Bitch, what the fuck," he said, recording it as a voice note before sending it to Josh, who responded with a text full of laughing emojis. Shaking his head, Tyler clicked his phone off and went to do his own business. Truthfully, he was apprehensive about the hangout. Even though he'd be hanging out with the people he liked, he wasn't certain as to how he and Josh would act around each other. As far as Tyler knew, he and Josh weren't  _that_  close in the eyes of his friends. He wondered how they'd react if they saw him and Josh getting affectionate with each other.

 _Don't be stupid_ , thought Tyler to himself. He wasn't big on PDA and Josh wouldn't force anything that he wasn't comfortable with on him. The only giveaway would be the teasing way Josh usually spoke to Tyler but Tyler's friends had already written that off as a typical Josh behavior which wouldn't always suggest romantic or sexual interest. Except perhaps Ashley, who always seemed to like teasing Tyler about Josh these days.

When the next day rolled over, Tyler realized he was dreading its arrival. He took longer than usual to get himself ready that morning. When 

Josh came over to pick him up, his reluctance hadn't gone unnoticed as he'd hoped. "Hey, why the long face?" asked Josh when Tyler got in his car.

"My face isn't long, fuck you," Tyler retorted then sighed. "I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"Ashley's been teasing me about you." Tyler buckled his seatbelt.

"Doesn't she tease everyone about everything?" Josh questioned with a frown as he began to drive.

"Yeah, but --" Tyler broke off, crossing his arms. "What if she acts like a yaoi fangirl when she sees us together?"

Josh snickered, making Tyler stare at him questioningly. "A yaoi fangirl?" he echoed, amused. "Okay, but what gave you that idea?" Tyler shrugged but the secret he withheld about the bet prodded him. "Don't worry about it, okay?" said Josh, patting Tyler's knee in a reassuring manner. "I'll make sure we don't give her that idea."

Even though Tyler wanted to argue because he could think of a million possibilities that everything could go wrong, he decided to trust Josh and shut up. The conversation about that matter ended there, leaving a silence between the two that was filled by Josh's iPod that was connected wirelessly to the audio system. As they were early and had some time to themselves, they decided to spend it by visiting a coffeeshop near the amusement park where they'd meet everybody else later.

They were sitting at a table by the window. Tyler had his hand wrapped around an iced coffee, letting it go a few times when the cold seeped into skin and stung it then holding it again when his hand didn't sting that much. He stared in the general direction of the park although his eyes didn't train in on any interesting detail. Across him sat Josh, who was taking a picture of the slice of blueberry cake he had ordered earlier.

"There we go," Josh said to no one in particular as he admired the picture he had taken. "Looks good, right?" He held his phone up so Tyler could see the picture.

"Are you gonna post it to Snapchat or Instagram?" Tyler asked.

"Nah." Josh was taking another picture of god-knows-what in the cafe. "Summer is when I'm unplugged from my social media accounts," he said. "I mean, I do miss out on some stuff but it's not that important. It's always drama I couldn't be bothered about." He held his phone to Tyler once more, showing him what he'd taken. To Tyler's surprise it was a candid of himself. Somehow the picture turned out really good, the lighting and colors were perfect. Only, Tyler felt a little embarrassed.

"Oh my god, delete that," he pleaded but Josh simply laughed.

"Not a chance, buddy. You look adorable in this picture."

 

"Joshua, I  _do not_."

"Yes, you do. C'mon, you look really good in here and I wanna appreciate it."

"Well, you can appreciate me now," said Tyler.

"A picture lasts longer," Josh quipped.

Sitting there with Josh made Tyler felt two things at once, both of which were complete opposites of each other; he was relaxed but anxious. Josh's promise should've reassured him yet Tyler couldm't help but worry. As the time they had left before they had to meet their friends grew shorter, the knot of apprehension in the pit of his stomach twisted his insides further. The moment his phone vibrated on the table, Tyler jumped. Though he didn't move to check it, he knew the notification was a text from his friends.

Tyler looked to Josh then gave a nod, meaning it was time for them to go. After making sure his suspicion was correct, Tyler pocketed his phone and rose from his seat. Just as he and Josh were about to walk their way out, Josh's hand touched his wrist lightly; the meaning of that gesture left many unanswered questions in Tyler's mind.

The two of them crossed the street to the boardwalk where the entrance to the amusement park was located. They saw Brendon and Sarah waiting under the shade of the ticket counter. Ashley was somewhere nearby trying to get a good picture of the sea while apparently Dallon had lost his way.

To Tyler's relief, Brendon made no teasing remark to Tyler about Josh, instead greeting the two of them warmly. Even Dallon, who came with a girl named Breezy, said nothing but nodded at Josh in greeting. Ashley, on the other hand, had elbowed Tyler with that stupid smirk on her face while Josh's back was turned. "Stop that," Tyler mouthed to Ashley with a scowl.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

After the group bought their tickets, they entered the park. They decided to make a stop at one of the fast food stands as Brendon was craving for corndogs.

"Hey, you want anything to eat? It's on me," Josh told Tyler.

"Nah, it's cool. You go ahead." Tyler waved dismissively.

"Cool."

With crossed arms, Tyler turned away from the stand. The breeze blew at him, carrying the salty smell of the sea towards him and blowinh away the smell of frying grease from the stand. His eyes scanned the horizon separating the sky from the sea, different hues of blue meeting together. Seagulls called noisily, some swooping onto the boardwalk in search of food while others flew against the wind while remaining seemingly stationary in the air.

Someone had walked up to Tyler, standing beside him. "So, Josh Dun, huh?" He knew right away who it was.

"It's not a big deal," he said, hoping his tone was convincing. He turned to see Ashley staring out at the sea. "Besides, you should be grateful I got him off your back for you."

"Really?" Ashley mused. The corner of her mouth quirked upwards. There was a twinkle in her eye as she turned to face Tyler. He was familiar with that look, despite seeing it on a younger face in his memories. "Thanks Tyler, but I can handle Josh myself."

"Sure."

Ashley shook her head then elbowed him. "Y'know, he may be a douchebag but he's a decent guy when he wants to." She glanced over her shoulder, strands of her colored hair flying with the breeze. She tucked them back. "And I can totally tell he wants to be a decent guy."

"Please," Tyler scoffed but inwardly he agreed with Ashley.

Ashley chuckled. "He's into you," she stated. "But at least he isn't always tailing after you for a date, right?" Tyler didn't say anything in response. "Anyway, good luck with him," she added, patting his shoulder.

"Why?"

Ashley could only smile at him, leaving him confused.


	16. 14

Ashley's behavior might've unsettled Tyler but he wasn't going to let some cryptic words and a questionable smile occupy more than sixty percent of his mind now. Besides, he was spending a whole day with his friends and Josh so he might as well enjoy himself. Being a homebody and all, it would do him good to enjoy being outside for his benefit, and his parents' who always complained about him spending way too much time on video games, anyway. That was, until, everyone but him agreed to try out that scary-looking roller coaster.

"Oh my god." Tyler had paled at the sight of it, feeling his stomach do weird flips and turns the same time the rollercoaster twisted and turn at breakneck speeds. He glanced to his friends and was stabbed by betrayal the moment he saw eagerness written all over their features. "You're all not going to drag me into this," he warned for good measure.

Good measure, his ass, because somehow he ended up waiting in line for a go at the rollercoaster. ""This is the worst," he muttered under his breath, thinking no one heard him. Josh had, apparently, though to be fair he'd been standing very close to Tyler. Despite how the distance was screaming the suggestion that something might be going on between Josh and Tyler, his friends hadn't made any comment about it.

"You haven't live till you've tried all the rides at an amusement park," Josh told him. Tyler gave him a dirty look but he kept going, "It's just like in video games, y'know? You won't feel accomplished until you've found all the secret areas, gotten all the power ups and played all the mini-games."

"Josh, please." Tyler smacked Josh with the pamphlet-map of the amusement park he had picked up earlier. He heard Josh chuckle from behind so he ignored it. Instead, he turned his attention to counting the number of people ahead of him, not so he knew how soon it'd be till his turn but to estimate the amount of time he had left to enjoy not being traumatized by a crazy-looking ride adrenaline junkies loved. In front of him was Brendon, Sarah and Ashley, crowded around Sarah's phone as she showed them some tv show about cops she had got hooked on. Behind Josh and Tyler was Breezy and Dallon but the pair seemed to be living in their adorable, little couple-goal-esque bubble together.

It was nice not to be the odd-wheeler in a group although Tyler couldn't really say much since he and Josh technically didn't have, and hadn't agreed on, a label to call what was going on between them. Which shouldn't be a big deal, because you can't lose what you don't have should things come to that but it was frustrating to keep referring it as  _The Thing_. A mild frown sat on Tyler's face as he thought about this matter.

The sharp snap of fingers inches away from his face yanked him back to reality. He blinked a few times, focusing on the person who did it, then arched his eyebrows. "What is it?" he asked Ashley.

"C'mon, look alive!" We're gonna take a group selfie." Ashley held up a selfie stick with her phone attached to it.

"Again?" Tyler couldn't help but groan quietly. They had taken one earlier when they were lining up for the carousel so he didn't see a need to take another one, especially not now since he was certain he looked pale, anxious and un-photogenic. Not to mention he was also sweaty-looking and disgusting. Since everyone was in consensus for a group photo, leaving Tyler the only unenthusiastic one, he had to force a smile for the camera to bear with it.

By the time it was their turn to ride the rollercoaster, Tyler wondered if it was too late to leave the line - hell, it probably was but the sight of the empty cars was enough to make him consider the idea. "Hey, it's okay," said Josh, with his hand on Tyler's shoulder for reassurance. "If it gets too scary, I'll hold your hand." Usually, when anyone said that kind of thing it was meant as a teasing joke but Josh sounded serious.

Apparently, it wasn't just Tyler who had heard Josh but Ashley in front too. "What a gentleman," she commented with a smirk.

"Just looking out for my friend," Josh said with his usual disposition, one that Tyler hoped would tell Ashley 'We are definitely not in the situation you suspect we are.' They got into the last car of the rollercoaster together. After the attendants made sure everyone had secured themselves safely, Josh's hand brushed over Tyler's enclosed one on his knee. The brief moment of contact made Tyler to glance at Josh, cheeks flushed. "I got you," Josh said.

Tyler's mouth went dry but he managed a small grateful smile. The warm feeling Josh's hand had given him was slowly spreading outwards from his chest; it was calming, enough to make him forget about how his stomach was doing twists and turns because of how scared shitless he was for the ride.

The rollercoaster moved, its motion abrupt, jarring its passengers riding it. Tyler's heart leapt when Josh's hand tightened on his. Tyler could feel his pulse quickening and sweat starting to build up at his nape. He made himself count, slow and steady, and time his breaths with each number. It was just a ride, nothing to be scared of. His palms became clammy as the rollercoaster began to creep up a steep incline.

He shut his eyes, trying to focus on anything but the fact that any second now he'd go weightless before plunging downwards. The smell of the calm sea. The distant cry of greedy seagulls. The feeling of his toes curled tightly inside his shoes. The cool breeze on his skin. Josh's hand.

And he went weightless in a split second, when he registered that plummeting feeling. Screams were heard all around him but he kept his eyes screwed shut while he clung to what was keeping him from flying out of the car. Amongst the sounds of wind whipping at him harshly and voices filled with adrenaline, he could hear Josh letting out a loud and continuous whoop. A part of Tyler admired how he wasn't unfazed by the whole ride but mostly on how Josh was the opposite of him.

And then it hit him, figuratively (with realization that made his heart stop for a second) and literally (some flyer smacked into his face, making him scream higher than he ever had before). It made a little more sense to him now.

▬▬▬

"Whoa, that was something!" Josh's eyes were shining with exhiliration, features brighter than the sun's rays beating down on them.

"I know right!" Sarah had a little skip in her step.

"I'd ride that again, not gonna lie," said Dallon, wild-haired.

Tyler could only give a weak smile at his friends, hoping he didn't look pale and nauseated. He'd hate to be a mood-killer. Which was mostly why he decided to slow his pace and fall in behind the group.

"Hey maybe we should take a breather." It was Breezy who suggested it, surprisingly, after she noticed how Tyler was struggling with a counterfeit smile. They didn't even know each other yet there was a look of concern on her face. Tyler was about to protest but one by one everyone agreed and decided to seek refuge under the shade.

Someone, Tyler wasn't certain  _who_  as his brain was a little fuzzy, made him sit and had given him a water bottle. Josh was sitting beside him; though his posture appeared relaxed and insouciant, Tyler could almost tell he was feigning indifference.

Taking this opportunity, everyone crowded around and began to discuss about what other rides they should try, estimating the total amount of time it'd all take, while Tyler stared at them mutely, nodding along.

"I think Tyler should skip out on the dizzier rides?" Josh suggested. "I mean, the rollercoaster hasn't been nice to him."

All eyes were on Tyler. "What?" He forced a laugh, shaking his head. Fear and worry were pinching at him. "Oh no. I mean, it's cool and all. I'm good with  --"

"Oh, it's no worries if you don't wanna try all of the rides out," Brendon said, giving Tyler a strange mix of guilt and relief. "I mean, it's not like it'd be the end of the world if you don't. You could always to try them out some other time."

"I second that," agreed Sarah while the rest nodded.

Tyler managed a small smile. "Thanks, everyone." After they were all rested, the group set off again. A weight felt like it had been lifted off Tyler's shoulders and he didn't feel as pressured as before. However, a tiny part of him couldn't help but feel as though his friends were inwardly judging him for being so feeble-hearted. Heck, even Brendon, who was easily startled, was acting fine.

This strange mood followed Tyler for the rest of the day, right until when everyone decided to ride the ferris wheel which had been saved for the last. He was lucky to have a gondola to only him and Josh.

"Pretty view," observed Josh as their gondola began to ascend.

"Mm," Tyler responded but he was actually looking at Josh. "Pretty."

Josh's lips folded together when a different expression overcame his features. "Tyler," he began, turning to face the other boy. "I'm really sorry about earlier," he said.

Tyler arched his eyebrows. He couldn't recall when Josh had upset him today or figure why Josh was apologizing. "For what, exactly?" he asked.

"For pressuring you into trying all the rides. Remember?"

"Oh yeah." Tyler paused. "Did you want me to be pissed at you?"

Josh smiled sheepishly. "It would be easier if you were. Then maybe I wouldn't feel so guilty about comparing the rides here to minigames in the video games you play." There it was, the thing Tyler had realized earlier.

Tyler hesitated at first. "Josh?"

"Hm?"

"You're like the opposite of me," he said. "I just realized that." Josh arched his eyebrow but said nothing. Tyler continued, "Like, I know I'm a little slow on the uptake but it's just ... I dunno how to say it. Like just now; if I were you, I'd actually be relieved that I wasn't mad about what you said. And back on the rollercoaster you were so pumped while I was wondering if it's too late to turn around --"

"Tyler --"

"Let me finish." Tyler shushed Josh. "Anyway, yeah. And, you're so sociable around others while I still feel awkward around them even though they tell me not to be. You're brave, I'm not. You're confident while I tend to be insecure. You're just ... many things I'm not." He regarded Josh. "I guess I've always knew that but I might've started accepting it now?" A tiny mirthless chuckle slipped past his lips. "I don't even know why you, or anyone else, even wants to have anything to do with me."

Josh stirred, sitting up and moving over to sit beside Tyler. The gondola swayed with his movement. "Tyler," whispered Josh, "you're selling yourself short."

"I'm just stating the facts."

"I'm pretty sure those are opinions."

"Oh shush."

Josh nudged Tyler's shoulder gently before resting his head on it; the gesture surprised Tyler but at the same time it made his heart want to explode with warmth. Josh had reached and enclosed Tyler's hands with his. "It's easy to compare yourself to others. But then it'll also be hard to accept that you are a completely different person from them. You're  _your own person_ , Tyler. And you've got admirable qualities too."

Tyler scoffed. "Like what?"

Josh grinned eagerly. "You're cute."

"Hmm, shallow."

"And you're great at the piano."

"Oh, come on, really?"

"Mhm. You're patient too when you teach me, which is good. And you try your best." Josh began to list out some more, each quality he gave gradually making Tyler feel better about himself. "And I like you. Like a whole lot," Josh said. "Honestly, I could stare at you the whole day and you could throw a flip-flop at me and I'd say 'I feel so blessed.'"

"I would never throw a flip-flop at you!

The corners of Josh's eyes crinkled with amusement. "I meant it figuratively but, man, I sure hope I don't piss you off that much," he said.

"You won't. Hopefully."

"Sounds promising." Then, Josh gave Tyler a quick peck on the cheek. And another and another until Josh's lips found their way to Tyler's.

 


	17. 15

Ever since that day at the amusement park, it seemed that Tyler would be found hanging out with Josh whenever he could. There were always excuses he made for himself, which ranged from boredom of being alone at home to lack of anything exciting to do. Today, they were spending their afternoon on the hill overlooking their town, where they shared their first kiss. No one really visited that spot anyway so it was probably one of their top options for a hang out.

"Fuck," Tyler cursed, head thrown back against the seat with his eyes screwed tight. Needy pants that he'd been desperately trying to suppress were now escaping from his lips, a sign of how well Josh was doing. Doing him, that is. Tyler didn't think it was possible to feel like this, having intense waves of pleasure washing over him without giving him a pause to breathe. He couldn't recall exactly how he ended up like this; one moment he and Josh were staring out at the town from the car's trunk with their hands interlaced and the next with Josh's head between his legs. All he knew was that one moment they were talking about music and  _bam!_  this happened.

Now, Tyler hadn't ever gone this far with anyone else so everything was new to him. Well, new as in he was experiencing it  _in person_  rather than watching how it all goes down from a screen. There was no doubt that he was anxious about the whole thing, about where it'd lead to, about how it'd end. All those kinds of things. But fortunately those worries had taken the backseat in his brain because Josh had picked up the pace and was sucking him off in the most exquisitely pleasurable manner.

"Slow down," Tyler panted, fingers curling in Josh's hair; it was ridiculous how soft the fading red strands felt in his hands. Josh was still blowing him off at the same pace, taking as much of Tyler as he went down and sucking him as he went up slowly, working what he couldn't take with his hands. "Josh, i-if you keep t-this up --"

"You'll what?" There was a dangerous smile hanging crookedly on Josh's lips as he raised his gaze of mock innocence to Tyler, making the other boy feel even more flustered. Tyler groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as he rested his head against the floor of the trunk. He barely registered the dull ache at the back of his neck from lifting his head up to look at Josh while he got sucked off. What he did register was how Josh had pushed his shirt up, exposing his abdomen and was slowly peppering kisses on his flushed skin on the way up. Tiny noises escaped from Tyler's lips.

It was a good thing this spot on the hill was deserted.

"Fuck this," Tyler mumbled, getting up to remove his shirt. "You take off your clothes too," he added, throwing in a glare at Josh. It wasn't fair how he was still clothed while Tyler's pants was lying somewhere and his shirt was in the process of being removed.

Josh scoffed but did as he was told. Tyler watched, somewhat hungrily, as Josh discarded his clothing and revealed his body to him. Something squeezed Tyler's heart tightly, making him short of breath as Josh raised his gaze. For some reason, Josh was looking at Tyler with that tiny lips-pressed-together smile through his lashes. Josh, who had always been the confident and outgoing one of the both of them, was shy.

"What?" Josh said, his tone slightly higher than the husky one he had earlier when he'd been teasing Tyler.

"Uh," Tyler responded belatedly. "Nothing, it's just ... wow." His eyes traveled up and down Josh - fuck, how did he get so lucky?

Some of the shyness in Josh's expression had lifted and was replaced by amusement, the kind Tyler was familiar with. "Wow?" he echoed but there was a hint of mirth beneath that disbelief.

"Wow," Tyler repeated then laughter bubbled out of his mouth; the nervousness he'd been experiencing earlier at the thought of having sex with Josh here. At the sight of this, Josh relaxed and laughed along as well, shaking his head. When Tyler opened his eyes, Josh was right above him and was moving closer. "Whoa," whispered Tyler, which was the most he could pluck out.

The corners of Josh's lips curled upwards when his breath ghosted warmly across Tyler's flushed skin. "What?" There was a teasing note in his voice as his lips brushed the sensitive skin on Tyler's neck.

"Who's gonna ... y'know ... who?" Tyler could barely manage to speak the words as Josh nibbled at him. "Like - Oh! Right there."

"Anything goes for me," said Josh. He raised himself so Tyler could look at him directly. "I don't mind if you use the back door."

Tyler stared when he understood the innuendo belatedly. His cheeks flushed even more. "Oh my god." The sides of his eyes were crinkled with humor. He raised his hand, ruffling Josh's hair playfully; he loved doing that and Josh loved it too. "Christ, Josh." Then Tyler's hand traveled downwards and came to rest on Josh's cheek.

Josh's eyes fluttered half-shut as he leaned into Tyler's touch, looking as content and satisfied. This gesture made Tyler's heart race, pumping even more warmth into his bloodstream. A sudden idea occured to him and took a higher priority than getting off with Josh. "Y'know what?" Tyler began, his breath hitching.

"What?"

"I'm super sorry if you wanted to fuck or whatever," Tyler paused, searching Josh's face for any signs of disappointment. There were none, fortunately. "But can we just ... cuddle and kiss? I'm sorry," he added hastily as Josh moved away from him; there was this feeling as though someone had poked his delicate chest.

"No, no it's cool." Josh smiled. "I was just moving so I could do this." He found himself a position to rest on Tyler's body, shifting his weight so it was comfortable for both him and Tyler.

"Oh." Was Josh being nice for Tyler's sake or was he genuinely okay with this. "You sure you're cool?"

"I'm hot."

"Oh fuck you."

"Perhaps some other time, Joseph," replied Josh. "You've made me go from horny to soft so let me be soft." Tyler laughed once more and the warmth flooded his being again.

▬▬▬

After their little cuddle session, things heated up once more and both Josh and Tyler did the deed in the back of Josh's car, which had left the both of them shaking from the high of their orgasms and washed off by the waves of bliss. They cleaned themselves up after then agreed to return to town once they had recovered. The ride down the hill was spent in a comfortable silence; Josh had his hand resting on Tyler's knee while Tyler had his resting on Josh's.

They stopped by at a convenience store to get some snacks when Tyler remembered his brother had sent him an email from camp to get a copy of the latest release of his brother's favorite comic book series. "I'll just be next door," Tyler told Josh, who was browsing the carbonated drinks display.

"Sure, I'll see you there."

Tyler left the convenience store and entered the comic book store. Today, there weren't many people in the store. One of the employees at the register waved at him in greeting so he waved back. There were rows of shelves packed with different comics, all arranged by alphabetical by their series. Lo-fi music played overhead, which gave a chill vibe to this place.

Tyler proceeded towards the shelf that had the comic book that his brother was looking for and began to browse. Just as he found what he was here for, someone tapped his shoulder. He glanced up to find a familiar face grinning at him. "Oh, hey Pete."

"Hey, good to see you, Tyler!" chirped Pete, cheery as always. He appeared the same as usual; dreadlocked hair, oversized glasses that made his eyes appear comically enlarged. He was clutching a couple of manga volumes, whose titles Tyler couldn't read as they were obscured by Pete's arms.

"You too, Pete." Tyler smiled but inwardly he was hoping Pete wasn't upset that they hadn't hung out in awhile, even though Pete made him promise they would before school ended for the summer. Fortunately, Pete acted as he always did, like an excited puppy.

"So, so what've you been up to?" Pete asked. "I heard you became a swim coach for kids or something."

A crease appeared between Tyler's eyebrows. "A swim coach? Oh no, I just work part-time at the pool as a lifeguard."

"Ooh, that explains why you look tanner than you do," Pete said, chuckling. "I remember that you always look pale as fuck."

"Gee, thanks." Tyler was about to excuse himself from Pete's presence when his eyes caught the sight of Josh standing outside the store. Their gazes met when Josh did this gesture that indicated he'd be waiting in the car. Tyler nodded then returned his attention back to Pete, who had this ridiculous smirk on his face.

Then, Pete turned to Tyler and said, "Oh yeah, I also heard about you and that Dun kid." Tyler's heart rate stopped all too sudden then continued at a faster rate. "He's quite a catch, isn't he?"

"Uh, what?" Tyler said.

Pete laughed a bit too loudly and nudged Tyler teasingly. "No need to pretend, Tyler." He shook his head, still grinning. "Anyway, I wouldn't have guessed you and him, y'know? Since we're like the kids near the bottom of the social hierarchy at school and Josh knows a lot of people who are at the top or something. I didn't think he'd be interested in you. He always seemed to be the guy who likes the conventionally attractive types."

"Oh."

"No offense, though," Pete added, patting Tyler's shoulder. "Anyway, enjoy it while it lasts, yeah? Also you should totally read the manga or watch the anime I suggested to you. You're missing out so much. See ya!" He waved at Tyler then went to pay for the volumes he picked.

For a long moment, Tyler stood there with Pete's words echoing in his head, gradually growing louder in volume. There was a stirring in his chest and he was certain he didn't like the swell of thoughts that followed after the feeling.

▬▬▬

"Hello," Josh greeted when Tyler returned to the car. "Got what you were looking for?"

As Tyler's mind was currently preoccupied with what Pete had said, he simply gave an "Mm," as an answer.

"Cool." Josh looked at Tyler for a bit then reached out to give his knee a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, you good?"

"Yeah," Tyler replied, clearly not in the present. Josh decided to leave him be. The car ride back to Tyler's was spent in silence, this time it was awkward as fuck on Josh's end. By the time they reached their destination, Josh had to call Tyler's name twice to get his attention.

"We're here."

"Oh."

Josh reached out, this time touching Tyler's cheek. "Hey, um, whatever's on your mind right now," began Josh with concern, "you can always tell me, alright?"

Tyler managed a smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, I know." They exchanged a quick kiss before Tyler got out of the car and went inside his house.

For every step Tyler took away from the car, Josh felt stings in his chest.


	18. 16

" _Tyler? Hey, I thought I'd check up on you,_ " crackled Josh's voice from the shitty speakers of Tyler's phone. " _Uh, you seemed pretty bummed today so I was wondering why. Not saying that you should tell me now but feel free to tell me when you feel better, okay? Good night._ "

The moment the recorded message ended, Tyler clicked his phone off and tossed it somewhere onto the bed, away from his body. He shut his eyes and listened to the AC unit hum softy in the background while  _Twenty Two Airplanes_  played on the audio system. Really, he was fine, he didn't need anyone to worry that much about him — he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Except not really at the same time. Sure, he wanted to talk to someone about the thoughts that were bugging him but at the same time he didn't know who he could approach.

Certainly not Josh, because Tyler's thoughts were related about their relationship. Definitely not Ashley, who'd probably gloat over the fact that Tyler and Josh had gotten together before actually listening to what Tyler would say. Obviously not Pete, as the he wasn't perceptive of how other's felt and could come off as insensitive and rude, despite being honest and having good intentions.

Maybe Tyler could try talking to Brendon. Yeah, that seemed like a better option compared to the previous three. Besides, ever since working with Brendon, Tyler has received nothing but good vibes from the guy. Betting on his guts, Tyler reached for his phone and texted Brendon.

Tyler: hey  
  
Brendon: YOO MAH MAON MAN TYLER WHST IS UP  
  
Brendon: *MAIN LMAO  
  
Tyler: uhh nothing much rlly. wyd?  
  
Brendon: LOOKING FOR MEMES. WBU  
  
Tyler: eh  
  
Tyler: not doing anything productive really  
  
Brendon: COOL COOL OKAY  
  
Tyler: actually  
  
Tyler: i have something i wanna talk abt  
  
Brendon: oH  
  
Tyler: yeah ,,,  
  
Brendon: Okay cool go right ahead!  
  


Tyler's heart was beating so fast he was certain it might gain enough speed to break out of his chest. With shaky fingers, he began to type his feelings out, ignoring the typos his perfectionist ass would've gone back to correct when he reread the whole thing and felt like trash. Highlight, and delete.

Tyler: Have you seen Infinity War?  
  
Brendon: OH YES I HAVE HAHA OML THE TEAM DESERVED BETTER WTF THE MOVIE SNATCHED MY WEAVE  
  


Just right before he typed a response, Tyler drew a breath. He could feel it in him, that swell of self-disappointment in his chest that was expanding. How could he even do this to himself? Lips folded tightly together that they turned into a thin white line, he continued to type on his phone.

Tyler: SAME HERE HAHAHAH  
  


▬▬▬

The following day was both a nightmare and a blessing. Tyler didn't have to work his usual morning shift. However, he had to fill in the afternoon shift for one of the other lifeguards. Apparently some snobby rich kid had booked the pool for their sixteenth birthday party so the place was packed with their friends, giving Tyler and Dallon a good reason to be on constant vigilance until the party was over.

"It's as hot as balls, I swear," said Dallon as he came over to Tyler. His body was glistening from sweat, Tyler guessed, because there was no way that could be water since Dallon hadn't taken a dip in the pool. Then again, Tyler supposed he shouldn't be disgusted since he wasn't that much of a sight himself, considering he was sweating just as much as Dallon was.

Curse the summer heat.

Tyler nodded in agreement to Dallon's statement, wiping his forehead with his towel. He cringed, finding the area he used already damp with sweat. "I really can't wait until they go home. They're such a handful," he complained. Truthfully, he didn't mind it as much as he sounded; at least these spoiled teens were keeping him occupied from yesterday's thoughts.

Just as Tyler thought he had found respite from his troubles, a familiar boy with fading dyed red hair appeared. "Oh great," he mumbled, frowning slightly. Josh took one glance at his direction then at the teenagers, shot an apologetic smile to Tyler then joined the teens at the pool.

"Huh." Dallon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know, sometimes I wonder how so many people know Josh."

Tyler tensed. "Yeah, same," he said anyway. He looked back to the pool.

"Probably might have to do with the fact that he's loaded," Dallon went on. "Oh well, at least he acts decent, unlike these other monkeys." Tyler didn't pay much attention afterwards because his chest had constricted tightly at the sight of people his age checking Josh out.

Seriously? Josh was Tyler's to ogle, not them.

_Really?_  said a small voice in Tyler's head.  _But you're not even his boyfriend or anything. What reason have you got to be jealous?_ As if the universe was in agreement with that voice, the people who'd been checking Josh out approached him. The sight made Tyler's gut twist and turn the same way the rollercoaster he rode with his friends the other day did.

"I need to get myself a new towel," Tyler told Dallon. "Be right back." Without pausing to hear what the other lifeguard would say, Tyler left the pool to the locker rooms for the staff. There was a sour taste at the back of his throat. His heart was racing but with every pulse it only hurt. Once he reached the locker room, he took a seat at one of the benches and put his face in his hands. "Breathe, Tyler, breathe," he said.

Shit, why the fuck was he so upset? If anyone walked up to Josh and started flirting with him outright in front of Tyler a few days ago, Tyler wouldn't have minded as much as he would now. What the actual fuck.

"It's nothing," he told himself through gritted teeth. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and found himself immensely annoyed that some tears had been shed. "Stop being a dramatic bitch and get over it."

▬▬▬

After returning from the locker room with a new towel, Tyler had already replaced his expression with a mask of cool indifference. It was an acquired skill, pretending not to care about anything in general. Sometimes it helped, though, believing in your own lie. When he joined Dallon at the pool, he had gotten a strange look from his colleague as well as a standard "You okay there?" question.

"Yeah, pretty good," said Tyler as he threw in a smile just to throw Dallon off. "Just needed to wash my face for a bit and get a new towel, that's all." Dallon arched his eyebrows but left Tyler alone afterwards. Everything went splendid, well as splendid as looking after spoiled brats could get, afterwards right until the end of Tyler's shift. The party hadn't ended yet but some of the partygoers had left prior to the end of Tyler's shift. As Tyler collected his stuff and left the pool, he was slightly annoyed Josh was leaving at the same time.

Not that he was incredibly salty with himself and that he needed to take it out on Josh, Tyler practically sped-walked away from the pool when Josh was approached by some people. By the time Tyler had showered and changed out of his sweaty clothes, a mix of relief and disappointment – the latter shouldn't have existed – swelled within him as he left the building. He arrived home as quickly as he could afterwards and spent the rest of his day in his room, playing video games. For good measure, he had his phone turned off so he wouldn't be tempted to check it.

The plan went well, right until a couple hours later when his parents returned. It was only for a brief period, since they were leaving soon for their 'date night'. "Don't let anyone in the house, alright?" reminded Mr Joseph as they were in the doorway.

Tyler nodded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "I know."  _I'm not five,_  he was tempted to add.

Once his parents were out of the door and their car was out of sight from the driveway, Tyler sighed with a small smile in his face. Finally, some him time. Going upstairs, he connected his wireless speakers to his laptop and went downstairs. He even grabbed some bags of chips he'd smuggled from the kitchen. Laying on the couch in the most unceremonious manner, he decided to watch some episodes of a tv show about cops he's been missing out on. However, his planned alone time didn't last long.

About halfway through the first episode he was watching, someone was pressing the buzzer. Annoyed, Tyler ignored it, hoping whoever it was would go away but after the third buzz, he stalked towards the door and checked the peephole. Actually, he just wanted to glare at the person in hopes the person would somehow feel his glare and leave but that backfired because the moment Tyler looked through the peephole he nearly screamed.

Heart slamming in his throat, he was standing a little away from the door with eyes wide open and his hand clamped over his mouth. Tyler counted till three then plucked the courage to check again; apparently, his vision didn't have problems. Josh was standing right there at his doorstep, lips pressed together with a small frown on his face.

Something within Tyler seized control of him, causing his hands to move on its own volition to unlock the door. When he opened it, he stared at Josh without a word, mouth open and eyebrows arched.

Josh had given a start but regained his composure and smiled a little. "Hey," he said in a shy voice, making heat spill into Tyler's cheeks.

"W-what?" Tyler began faintly. "What are you doing here?"

It was Josh's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?" he said. "You told me your parents would be out for the night, like, two days ago."

"I did?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Oh." Honestly, Tyler felt guilty for forgetting that he and Josh had set a date to spend time together. A part of him wondered if Josh was disappointed in him, which made him feel even worse.

Josh nodded and averted his eyes. It was now hard to tell is Tyler's suspicions were true. "Yeah," Josh said. Was that a hint? "I brought some snacks too," he added.

"Oh." Then, Tyler remembered he was supposed to let Josh in. Cheeks flushed, he moved aside and held the door wider. If anything, the sudden spike of nervousness he got when he saw Tyler had shot through the roof had made him dizzy and slightly nauseated. "Right, uh, come on in, I guess."


	19. 17

Things would've went fantastic if Tyler hadn't been so awkward. For Christ's sake, he's done obscene and unprintable things with Josh and something as mundane as watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine on his laptop with Josh shouldn't be giving him this crazy amount of anxiousness. There was a more-than-reasonable space between him and Josh yet Tyler felt he should probably sit further - maybe two miles? - away from Josh. What if Josh lowkey hated him for ignoring and being a total bitch today?

"Eh, didn't this show get cancelled by FOX and got picked up by NBC?" asked Josh out of nowhere.

"Uh, I guess so." Tyler's voice was shaky. He cleared his throat and shrugged but the gesture seemed to stiff to be nonchalant. "I'm glad it's not cancelled permanently."

"Same."

"Yeah." Tyler would've given anything to punch his own face if he could. When the episode ended, he excused himself to the bathroom. There, he splashed water on his face and scowled at himself in the mirror. "Why am I doing this to myself?" he muttered under his breath as he turned the faucet off.

Maybe he should apologize, he thought, for being such an incapable human being. And also for making things awkward. Maybe he wasn't meant to be around Josh, like Pete implied. Maybe the voice in his head that said Josh was only around him because he pitied him or that Tyler was fun to mess around with was right. Maybe he should break things off, not that there was much to break off in the first place. There was a sudden pain in his chest, like his heart was outright disagreeing with his thought process.

He came out of the bathroom later, feeling even more awful, only to find that his laptop was shut and Josh was scrolling through his phone. At the sight, Tyler could only think of what Pete had said, about what he had heard about Josh way before, and wondered if Josh was seeing someone else behind his back. His insides squeezed painfully again.

"Hey, Tyler?" Josh said. He hadn't even looked up from his phone; had Tyler done something he wasn't conscious of to alert Josh of his presence or was Josh a psychic? "Come over here, will ya?"

"Sure," Tyler squeaked, vocal chords tightened with trepidation. He made his way slowly to Josh but stopped at least two feet away from the other boy. "What's ... up?"

Josh set his phone down on the low coffee table just as a song began to play. With that gentle smile that caught Tyler off guard, he extended his hand. "May I have this dance?" Tyler stared at Josh's hand then his gaze traveled up to the owner's face.

"I --" Tyler began but his throat hurt from the swell of words that begged to be released. Folding his lips together because he didn't trust his mouth, he nodded and took Josh's hand. In the split second contact was made, Tyler remembered he wasn't very good at dancing and the last formal event he had attended which had dancing ended up with him stepping on his partner's feet by accident way too many times.

Josh placed his other hand on Tyler's waist, giving indication he'd lead; Tyler could only pray that he didn't step on Josh's toes. They began to sway to the music, which happened to be an instrumental of a song whose tune was vaguely familiar. Tyler kept his eyes downwards to make sure he wouldn't put his foot wrong.

"You're tense," Josh observed with some amusement, bringing heat into Tyler's cheeks. "Relax."

"I don't want to step on your toes." It must've been the nerves that caused Tyler laugh louder than necessary.

"Look at me, babe." The way Josh used that endearment made Tyler feel like spontaneously bursting into flames; it always had the same effect on him, no matter how many times Josh had called him that. Slowly, Tyler obliged. "There we go. Much better."

"Oh, you won't be saying that when I step on your toes.

"You won't step on my toes."

Tyler gave Josh a mildly exasperated glare. "Y'know, your stubbornness is both an admirable but irritating thing to me." In response to the statement, Josh grinned. Tyler's heart swelled with fondness.

Now that he a bit more relaxed, he could appreciate the little details. Like the tune and rhythm of the song they were dancing to, the pressure of Josh's hand on his waist, the proximity of his body to Josh's, the faint scent of Josh and more he'd like to list but would probably take all night. When he blinked out of his thoughts, his gaze focused on Josh's. And Tyler couldn't help but giggle.

The corners of Josh's mouth lifted as his warm eyes gleamed with mirth. "What?"

"Nothing."

"It ain't nothing if you're laughing!"

"Oh, forget it." All of a sudden, Tyler was seized by the urge to kiss Josh on the forehead, and he did. He placed a lingering one on Josh's forehead then drew back, cheeks flushed. "Goddamit, Josh," he said, in a voice that was barely above a whisper. This time Josh didn't respond, although Tyler had a feeling he was waiting for Tyler to explain.

But explain what? Should Tyler even risk revealing what troubled his mind? To place the burden of his thoughts on Josh? What would Josh say or do afterwards? And how would he feel?

 _You know what? Fuck it,_  thought Tyler.  _Fuck everything. Josh isn't even mine to begin with - I mean, we've never properly established that thing between us. So it's not like I'd lose as much as I would I think I would, anyway. I hope._

"Josh?" Tyler began tremulously. His heart was beating fast once more and he felt faintly sick with anxiousness.

"Mm?" The music had ended, now being played by another song which Tyler hadn't heard of. But still, it was slow-dance material.

"Can I," Tyler began with some difficulty, "be totally honest with you?"

"You're always welcome to be honest with me." It was so relieving to hear those simple words spoken with an earnest tone.

"Why me?" Tyler asked. "Why did you want to start ... whatever this thing between us with me?" he elaborated when he realized his first question had been too vague. When Josh didn't say anything immediately, Tyler continued. "I mean, I'm not that good-looking. Or rich. Or popular. Yet you still gave me a hell of a chase. And stayed, for Christ's sake."

Josh's shoulders shook. "Jeez, Tyler. I didn't stay for Jesus' sake."

"Uh -"

"I stayed because I like you. Like a whole lot." Tyler almost cried when he heard Josh say that. "Okay, I know that's hard to believe, given my reputation and whatnot. But I'm totally honest here with you, alright? You're, like, the most infuriating person on the planet. You're feisty and sass me way more than anyone does. Also I find it hot how don't give two shits when you're on duty. Well, that side of you also shows when I tell you off but whatever. But you're a good person, you're thoughtful, caring - like a soft ball of fluff, y'know? Anyway, my point is that you're the first person I've met who has made me feel way too many things at once. It's kind of overwhelming but at the same time I wouldn't trade it for anything else."

Tyler stared at Josh, dumbfounded. He even banged his leg painfully on the coffee table, which instantly ruined their slow-dance, but that wasn't his top concern at the moment. However, there still lived a tiny shred of doubt. "Is that what you say to everyone who falls for you?" It had to be said, even if it killed the mood.

For some reason, Josh didn't seem pissed, like Tyler had expected, instead gave a sad smile. Like he knew this sort of question would come for him. "Believe it or not, but this is the first time I've ever said this cheesy and overrated line to anyone."

And right there, Tyler gave Josh a playful smack on his arm. "Fuck you, Dun."

Josh had the audacity to smirk in a lewd manner. "Well, we could since your parents are out for the night."

"Oh my god, Josh."

"If you're up for it," Josh added hastily, looking somewhat embarrassed now.

"I think I remember why I ever mentioned this to you in the first place." Tyler rose from the couch he had sat on to nurse his leg which he had bumped earlier. With one hand on Josh's shoulder, he led the other boy upstairs.


	20. 18

"Twenty dollars, Joseph!" Tyler had to fight a groan as he heard footsteps running towards him from behind. He turned to find Ashley panting, with a fiercely triumphant grin on her face. "You owe me twenty bucks," she rephrased herself though it was hardly necessary since Tyler knew why she was chasing after him.

"Don't have the money right now," he told her outright. "Also, I'm running a bit late for my shift."

Ashley straightened up from placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Arching her right eyebrow, she gave Tyler a look. "Sure, but I'll remind you later. In case you forget." Then she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Okay, but it's not like you need the money anyway."

"You lost the bet!"

"Screw you," Tyler called over his shoulder but he was laughing anyway. He was in a good mood today because of what had happened last night. He had invited Josh over for dinner and to officially meet his parents. Things had gone smoothly and whatever impressions that Josh was a troublemaker Tyler's parents had of him evaporated. To say that Tyler was pleased was an understatement.

"Looks like I passed the test," Josh had said when Tyler was walking him out the door. His voice had sounded slightly shaky and there was a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead. "I've never done this before. The whole meeting -someone's-parents' thing."

"I guess it's probably a confidence booster that you did well on your first try," Tyler had joked. Him and Josh had ended up laughing before exchanging kisses and goodbyes. Tyler had felt all mushy and warm inside and super proud of his boyfriend so the good feeling today must've been the leftovers. Still, it made today's shift more bearable for him, even with that snobby old man who often mistook Tyler for a towel boy despite being told many times that Tyler was a lifeguard.

His shift went by quicker than usual and by the time it was over, Tyler was eager to head home. After changing into a spare set of clothes, he approached Ashley with the money he owed her. "And you said you didn't have money," she muttered under her breath with narrowed eyes.

"Well, to be fair, it was in my locker and there's no way in hell I'd walk back to get it."

Ashley's lips quirked at the sides before she smacked him playfully. "Anyway," she said as she pocketed the cash, "I was thinking we could hang out later. Y'know, buddy to buddy."

"Who says buddy unironically these days?" Tyler snickered as the two of them walked out of the staff area.

"Just answer the question, Joseph."

"Nah, I'm hanging out with Josh."

"Oh." Perhaps she didn't intend for it to sound that way but Tyler thought Ashley sounded disappointed.

He slowed his pace, sneaking a glance at her. To his relief, she didn't seem let down although that didn't stop him from saying, "Sorry." He tried to recall when was the last time he actually hung out with her and realized it was that time when they went on a group date with their friends at the boardwalk. Oops. Lips folded together, he tried to make a compromise. "We could go for a movie this –"

Ashley waved her hand dismissively. "It's cool, you don't have to make it up to me or anything. And I totally understand why you'd want to hang out with Josh anyway. Summer's coming to an end pretty soon."

A part of Tyler wished she didn't have to say that. He knew his days with Josh were numbered and both of them wanted to make the most out of their time. Yet a part of him wanted summer to never come to an end. Which was exactly why he pretended not to take note of the passing days, avoided looking at the calendar, and tried not to think too much about the time slipping by. It was childish, he knew that, but that was the only response he could give.

▬▬▬

"I think you might be getting a hang of playing this song," commented Josh as he watched Tyler play the piano. "'Cause you don't freeze as much halfway through the middle of it like you used to."

"You think?" The notes that were flowing eventually came to a stop. Tyler turned to look at Josh, looking slightly skeptical. He had been practicing for a week now but there was always that one part of the song where he froze up, forgetting how to play the rest of the song even though he had already had the notes engraved in his brain. It was kind of like studying for an exam only to find that your brain farted and had released all crucial information you came armed with.

Josh nodded, resting his head on Tyler's shoulder. The gesture brought pangs to Tyler's chest. Though the two of them never talked about it, Tyler wondered if Josh was aware that their time together was growing shorter with each passing day. Okay, maybe he was, but how did he deal with it? How did he go to bed every night trying not to think too much about the end of summer drawing near? They only had a week left and then what after that? Was there even a chance that they'd keep their relationship once the season is over? It might not be likely and perhaps it was selfish to hope —

A knock on the door brought his attention to the present. He turned to see Josh's grandfather poking his head round the door. "Grandpa, hey," greeted Josh, sitting up.

"Good afternoon, Mr Dun," Tyler greeted as well, feeling a slight prickle of disappointment when Josh's grandfather returned the greeting to his grandson but ignored Tyler. Not that he had been expecting any special treatment ever since George Dun made his thoughts about Tyler clear after Josh had properly introduced Tyler to his grandparents. George Dun didn't think much of their relationship so Tyler was obviously not going to get any special treatment. Still, it kind of hurt.

"What are you doing?" George asked, coming over to the piano. He stood by Josh's side, unsurprisingly.

"Eh, Tyler's playing me a song. Wanna hear it?"

"No thank you," replied George and something in Tyler deflated. A heartbeat passed before George changed the topic. "Actually, your grandmother and I would like to have a word with you, if your friend doesn't mind." Tyler's eyes fell to the piano keys, swallowing up the tiny pangs of hurt he felt; it was one thing for a name to be mistaken with another but it was another to have one's name purposely disregarded and substituted for an epithet.

"Tyler," Josh said, his tone colored with faint annoyance. "His name is Tyler." George grunted although it sounded more like dismissal instead of acknowledgement. He left the room without a word when Josh turned to Tyler. "Sorry Gramps is still a dick to you," he said, placing a hand on Tyler's shoulder.

"It's fine." It really wasn't.

Josh's lips twitched as though he wanted to say something but thought better of it. "I'll go see my grandparents now. Be right back, babe." Tyler could only offer a hollow smile as Josh pressed a kiss to his cheek before leaving. As soon as he heard door click shut, Tyler slumped forward, a cacophony of notes released from the piano as soon as his forehead rested on the keys.

He had his eyes squeezed shut and his fists curled on his knees. Maybe it was time, he figured, time to let go and move on. Better to break things off sooner than let it hurt him till later. Besides, he didn't think it was fair to keep himself and Josh in a long-distance relationship once summer was over; too many things could happen. Not only that, Tyler was heading off to college, and get further away in the process. A mirthless laugh bubbled out of his throat; the universe had been cruel to let him find love only to wrench it away.

He didn't know when he sat up properly but he came to a conclusion that he needed to speak to Josh about this. Like, as soon as possible. No chickening out. It probably helped him that Josh came back soon enough before his mind could fret over the tiniest details.

"Cookies," announced Josh when he entered the room with a plate of them while Tyler had turned around and said, "we need to talk."

The two boys stared at each other. "Uh," began Josh, looking unsure. "Sure, I guess." After setting the plate of cookies on the piano, Josh faced Tyler. "What's up?" he asked.

"Can we," Tyler began, heart thumping in his throat, "just end it here?"

Josh frowned, confused, although Tyler was certain he knew what the topic of discussion was. The tension between them grew heavy in the air between them and it almost felt like thousands of years passed before Josh's lips moved to speak. "End it here?" he echoed. There was so much uncertainty and disbelief in his barely audible whisper. The look on his face was something like betrayal.

Whatever happened to never being able to lose something you couldn't quite call yours? They'd never established a label for what existed between them yet the pain wrenched at their insides, tearing a huge chunk out of their beings.

It was like every muscle in Tyler's neck resisted at the movement of nodding. "Y-yeah," he managed. His mouth had gone as dry as sawdust. "It was great while it lasted —" Tyler had to pause because his throat was starting to hurt "—but I think we should just end it here."

Josh pressed his lips together. A long moment had passed, the air between them growing heavier, before he spoke in the smallest voice possible. "Why?"

Tyler struggled, groping blindly for words in his head but all he caught was gibberish or half-formed words which had no meanings. He had thought this through yet the pressure had broken him and snatched all the reasons he had came up with earlier.

"Did I do something wrong?" Josh asked. It was as though someone had taken a blade right up to Tyler's chest through his side, puncturing his lungs and stabbing his heart; he couldn't breathe and every pulse hurt him.

"It's not you. It's —" Tyler hesitated. "It's ... not me either."

"Then?" Josh's voice cracked despite being barely above a whisper.

Tyler shook his head. "Summer's coming to an end," he said haltingly. "And you're going to go away and I might not be here in this town the next time you come around."

"You do know that I have your number and I can still reach you, right?" Despite how blunt his words were, the tone of his voice gave them a different effect – he sounded pained and desperate.

"It wouldn't be the same as being around you." Tyler wanted to cry, scream and punch something. Why, of all times, did the universe give him something good at the wrong time?

Josh shook his head, getting up to walk towards the window. He was clenching his fists repeatedly and Tyler had a feeling he was more hurt than he let on. Guilt had its claws around his neck in a vise. What was supposed to be a great afternoon had spiraled downwards into a dump. Thinking it was best to go, Tyler rose from the piano and grabbed his bag from the corner of the room. He didn't even bother to say goodbye because he couldn't trust himself to speak for now.

▬▬▬

Tyler was pretty certain he must've ruined things for good between himself and Josh because they weren't speaking to each other. There were no good night or good morning texts, no occasional memes sent or whatever since the day before when Tyler suggested they break up. Well, to be fair, he also didn't try to reach out to Josh.

Today turned out to be a shit day. Tyler had been told off by snobby patrons, who all decided to show up at the same time, too many times that Brendon had to pull him aside so that his temper wouldn't flare up. To make matters worse, the combination lock of his locker malfunctioned for God-knows-why so he ended up having to wait in his sweaty clothes while someone worked on opening his locker up for him.

"What's with the sour face?" asked Ashley as she slid in to the seat beside Tyler at the table.

"Nothing," Tyler replied. "And my face isn't sour."

Ashley arched her eyebrows; there was a questioning look on her face. "Right," she said instead of asking him anything else. Nodding, she pulled out a pack of sour gummy worms and offered it to Tyler. "Want some? I remember they're your favorite."

"No thanks." Tyler spared the pack a glance. "Okay, fine. Maybe just one," he said as he reached into the pack. Ashley laughed after he pulled his hand out it. "What?"

"You said you'd have one but you pulled out, like, five." The corners of Ashley's eyes were crinkled with amusement. "Anyway, you had an awful day, right?"

"You tell me," Tyler responded as he popped the gummy worms in his mouth. Sourness exploded on his tastebuds, causing him to cringe slightly from the flavor. A few heartbeats passed before he said, "I wanted to break up with Josh." Loud coughs from beside him caused him to turn his head to see Ashley staring him with wide eyes.

"Wait, for real?" Her eyebrows knitted together as a protective expression crossed her features. "Okay, what did he do to you?" she demanded, her tone reminding Tyler of how his own mother acted when he got hurt by someone else. It was kind of terrifying but reassuring at the same time to know Ashley would have his back.

"Nothing?"

"I can't tell if that's an answer or a question with that tone."

"It's an answer," Tyler replied hastily. "And he did nothing wrong. It's just —" Tyler broke off, lips folding into a thin line. "I dunno. I just ... thought we should break up."

Ashley narrowed her eyes at him. "That doesn't sound like a very convincing reason," she opined.

Tyler wasn't sure how and why but he ended up explaining his situation and his reasons for wanting to break things off with Josh. It must've been the way she sounded concerned for him earlier. A part of him was surprised that he even opened up to her. "Anyway, tell me I'm being stupid for wanting this," he said once he was finished explaining.

Ashley was silent for a long moment. "Y'know what? You're not stupid for wanting to break things off with Josh," she acknowledged. "But, I think it was really dumb of you to just suddenly spring it on him like that."

Indignation flared in Tyler. "So how would you tell him if you were in  _my_  situation."

Ashley blinked a few times, opening her mouth and closing it before red tinted her cheeks. "Well, I'm no good with relationships either but I'm pretty sure that's not how you tell someone about things like that!"

"And you're sure of this because?"

"Books," said Ashley. "And fanfiction."

"Uh ... —"

"My point is," Ashley broke in before Tyler could say any more, "maybe you should talk to him." She held up a hand when Tyler looked like he wanted to argue. "Maybe he could be taking it as hard as you are."

"I'm not taking it hard!"

"In my opinion, you do."

Tyler sighed but he had to admit it: Ashley did have a point. "Okay, fine. I'll ... see if he's alright."

"Great!" Ashley clapped a hand over his back. "Also, you should get changed."

"I would if I could, Ash."

Once Tyler's locker had been opened, he got changed as quickly as possible. His mind had been running with possible places to meet Josh after his conversation with Ashley. However when he checked his phone and saw a text from Josh, he felt like a huge weight had lifted off his shoulders but at the same time worry lurked at the back of his mind. Apparently the text was brief, stating that Josh would like to meet Tyler at a nearby cafe. The unfortunate thing was that the message was sent like an hour ago and the time that was mentioned in the text was ten minutes away.

Tyler would've loved to scream at whoever up there had organized his day's events. He scrambled to get ready, hoping he looked presentable, and rode his bike all the way to the cafe. By the time he arrived, he was a mass of nerves. From the window of the cafe, he spotted Josh sitting by himself at one of the booths. Tyler drew a breath to steady himself then entered the cafe.

"Hey," he said once he made his way to where Josh was. Josh looked up from stirring his coffee, which was steaming.

The two of them began to speak at once.

"Sorry, I'm late. My locker was busted —"

"Listen, Tyler. I thought about what you —"

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

The two of them stared at each other before the nerves got to them and made them crack up. The awkward laughter between them seemed to ease the tension.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" asked Josh, gesturing Tyler to sit across him.

"No, you first," said Tyler as he slid into the booth.

"No, you."

"You."

"I swear to God, Tyler."

"Okay, sheesh." Tyler rolled his eyes but was grinning anyway. Whatever nervousness he had that had built up had disappeared somehow. "I saw your message, like, really late. My locker was busted and they had to get someone to open it up."

"I see."

"Yeah." Tyler nodded, hands clasped together under the table. "What about you?"

"I thought about what you said," Josh began. He had his eyes averted, like he couldn't look at Tyler. The sight hurt Tyler – did he fuck up that bad? "Like, I spent a whole night thinking about it," Josh continued. "Which is a new record because I really don't need to take that much time – Well, what I wanted to say is – uh —"

"It's okay," encouraged Tyler, who could tell Josh was struggling. He had reached out and placed his hand on Josh's; Josh felt tense underneath his palm. "Take your time to explain."

Josh nodded, drawing out a breath. He let out a nervous chuckle and bit his lip. "Right, right." He paused for a few moments to collect himself. "I think I kinda get why you want us to break up. Long distance relationships don't always work out."

"Y-yeah." Tyler was certain he could've cried in relief because the time he was riding his bike here he had to revise a whole speech with his reasons on wanting to break up. "I know this might be worst thing to say but I want to spare us from possible disappointments, heartbreaks and guilt which could come up in the future, y'know? I mean, I trust you and all but I wouldn't —" He stopped himself.

Josh didn't say anything for a few heartbeats, instead leveled his gaze with Tyler's. It looked like there was so much he wanted to say yet couldn't word them all out; it was a look Tyler was familiar with. "Y'know, at first I thought we wouldn't get along. You always seemed, I dunno, uptight? And the kind of guy who'd overthink things."

"Actually I  _am_  that kind of guy."

Josh laughed. "I'll admit it but I kinda hated you in the beginning."

"The feeling mutual," Tyler said with a shrug. "But look where we are now."

Josh grinned, the kind of smile that made Tyler's heart soar, and nudged the other boy with his foot. "I'm really grateful to have met you, just so you know. You made my whole summer worth it."

Tyler managed a weak smile, only realizing the backs of his eyes were stinging. What Josh said sounded so much like a goodbye, one that Tyler had told himself to be prepared yet couldn't be. He took a moment to blink the pressure on his eyes away and nodded his head. "Ditto, Josh. You piss me off so much sometimes but then you also make me so happy."

There was a song playing over the overhead speakers, whose first line of the chorus Tyler thought suited what he was feeling right now.

_You don't have to say I love you to say I love you._

Tyler's hand was still on Josh's, he realized. So right there and there, he lifted Josh's hand and placed it on his cheek.

 


	21. finité

Tyler would hate to admit it but he did miss Josh a whole lot. He hadn't contacted Josh, and even if he tried, there'd always be that distinct feeling of a knife stabbing and twisting into his chest. Perhaps it was cowardly of him but he deleted Josh's number and their pictures so that he wouldn't feel hurt over their separation. If only one could remove memories, it'd be an added bonus.

He'd been sitting there at the porch for some time now, unaware of the time that had passed by while he was thinking. The music from inside the house had somewhat decreased in volume and the tracks that were playing were less intense. According to Tyler's phone, it was about nearly two in the morning now, which meant he must've been stuck in his head for about an hour now staring out at nothing. Good thing nobody came here to the back and saw him; they would've wondered if he somehow died on the spot or something.

Tyler stood up, stretching those sore muscles and ridding his extremities of the pins-and-needles sensation. He decided he'd been here long enough. However just as he turned around, the door opened and revealed someone behind it. It was painful how quickly Tyler recognized the figure, from the way he held himself, and how it felt like the air had been smacked out of him. His heart even forgot how to beat in the moment their gazes crossed.

Surprise flashed over Josh's features as he stared back at Tyler. His mouth was open but no words left him. So the two of them regarded each other, stiff with shock but bursting with hundreds of emotions at the sight of each other. Truly, it must've been the longest they've been in each other's presence without saying anything to each other.

"I –" Tyler began but his voice failed him. He blinked rapidly and dug his nails into his palms. This wasn't a dream, was it? Josh was right there! Somehow, this wasn't how Tyler had pictured their reunion at all; in fact, it should've started with Josh making some crude joke, smirking as he did, and Tyler would roll his eyes in immense exasperation but he'd feel happy. Instead, all Tyler felt was horror and self-conscious. He wasn't prepared for this!

"Hello," said Josh although there was a hesitant note to his tone.

"Hey."

Josh inclined his head, lips folded together. "Didn't think I'd run into you here."

"Me neither." Tyler wished he could say anything better than his curt replies, to articulate the feelings he accumulated. Yet, a small smile crept up the corner of his lips. "Y-you look great, by the way."

Josh's eyebrows arched but something twinkled in his eyes. "Ditto," he responded before taking a tentative step towards Tyler. Josh's eyes traveled up an down Tyler, as though he still couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, when a tiny chuckle bubbled from him. "Goddamit, Joseph," he began, "there was a joke I wanted to say about your shoes but I forgot what it was now."

Tyler's eyebrows knitted together at once. "It's not the 'What are those?' joke, right?" He looked down at his shoes, which weren't atrocities called crocs.

"I was thinking of saying something that was kind of offhand and lame like the first time we met but it doesn't matter now."

Tyler scoffed. "Seriously? At a time like this?"

"I mean, if you want me to say 'What are those—'"

"No," Tyler said.

Josh laughed. It reminded Tyler of the sun, warmth and love. It was like summer all over again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's a wrap, everyone.
> 
> thank you so much for your continued support like seriously i wouldn't have done this without y'all.


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